Otis, Tommy “Tom” Ray (1928-2015)
OTIS, SKOGERBOE, NELSON, PETERSON, PHELPS, FERRELL, BOESEN, DAGGETT, WINSTON, MCCLINTIC
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 3/3/2015 at 19:30:58
Tommy “Tom” Ray Otis
February 23, 1928 - January 28, 2015Tom Otis passed away on Wednesday, January 28, 2015, in Spencer, Iowa.
Tommy Ray Otis was born in Forest City, Iowa, in 1928 to G. Carol and Melinda (Skogerboe) Otis. After attending school in Forest City, he joined the Merchant Marines during World War II. He traveled extensively while serving but was stationed mainly in England and the Pacific. Following the war, he attended watch-making school at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.
Tom married Vertalie Nell (Nelson) Otis in 1949. Although they didn't begin dating until junior high, the couple met as children when they attended the same elementary school in Forest City. Romance blossomed on Valentine's Day when, perplexed by how to spell her unusual name, third-grader Tom handed second-grader Vertalie a blank valentine and said, 'I've tried several times to write your name. Here, you fill it out.'
Tom and Vertalie Otis spent their first thirteen married years in Forest City where their children, Sally (Phelps), Bill, and Bob, were born before they moved to Spencer in 1962. There, Tom joined a friend, Tom Nelson, to establish the Nelson-Otis Jewelry Store in downtown Spencer. In time, they would also own jewelry stores in LeMars and Algona. Their successful partnership lasted more than twenty-five years after which time, Tom Otis retired from the jewelry business. After ten years in Southern California, he returned to Spencer to purchase Eddie Quinn's Clothing Store and then re-opened it with his son, Bill, as Otis Clothiers.
Tom, also, enjoyed construction including home building. During his early years in Spencer, he built four apartment houses, two dormitories, and eleven beautiful homes, and he served as project manager for several motels and other homes as well in the Iowa Great Lakes region.
Tom enjoyed hunting and was even profiled in Field and Stream for his crow shooting. A passionate fisherman, he enjoyed visiting his cabin on Upper Goose Lake in Canada to catch walleye. Moreover, he loved bringing others to Canada to fish and looked forward to his trips there. An accomplished woodworker, he, also, made beautiful pieces of furniture including tables, bedroom sets, mantels, and bookcases.
Tom will be remembered and missed by Vertalie, his wife of sixty-six years; his sister, Bonna (Herb) Peterson; his sister-in-law, Dorothy Otis; and his children, Sally (Dr. Bill Phelps), Bill (Tootie) Otis, and Bob (Mary Sue) Otis; his grandchildren: Jennifer (Rick) Ferrell; Betsy (Bryan) Boesen; John (Ashley) and Tom Phelps; Elizabeth (Wade) Daggett; and Christopher, Sam, and Ben Otis; and his step-grandchildren: Jenni (Demond) Winston and Jill and Matt (Angie) McClintic; as well as by nine great-grandchildren. His parents and his older brother, George, preceded him in death.
A celebration of Tom’s life will be held at the Spencer Golf and Country Club on Saturday, February 7, 2015, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established with the Spencer Community School Foundation to start a scholarship in Tom's name.
Copyright © 2015, Warner Funeral Homes & Crematory, Spencer, Iowa
Winnebago Obituaries maintained by Cheryl Siebrass.
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