Obituary for Laurence D. “Larry” Otto Laurence D. “Larry” Otto, 85, of Omaha, previously of Wood River passed away in Omaha on Thursday, September 20, 2018. A visitation will be from 11:00 to 1:00 Saturday at St Pauls Lutheran Church in Grand Island. A private burial of ashes in Grand Island City Cemetery will be held for the immediate family.
All Faiths Funeral Home is entrusted with arrangements. Larry was born at home in Doniphan, NE to Rex and Helen (Burmood) Otto on April 21, 1933. He graduated from Wood River High School where he played eight-man football.
He was engaged in farming with his father in Wood River. On January 18, 1953, Larry married Marilyn Kunze. They lived on a farm in Wood River, starting out in a small old farm house.
They raised cattle, sheep and pigs, plus corn, soybeans and alfalfa. They moved to the BIG farmhouse when Larry’s parents moved to town. Larry was in charge of clearing out the ghosts and monsters in the attic when Cindy and Shelley moved upstairs to sleep.
Interstate 80 was built right through the farm. A night out meant watching the landmovers race in the pits they were digging for dirt for the Interstate. At this time, 1964, Larry started working at Sperry New Holland in Grand Island on the combine line.
The family moved to a new home in Grand Island and then on to Corsicana, TX in 1971. Larry was service manager of four states and was very good at bringing home paperwork and expense reports for Marilyn to type up! It was stated that there was not a baler in the four-state area he could not fix.
In 1975, they moved to Olathe, KS, and Larry retired from the New Holland Branch in 1991. On their acreage in Olathe, Larry could ride around on his tractor lawn mower and tinker in his building for hours. He had a large horse bit collection and an amazing collection of tractors of all sizes of which Ford tractors were dominate.
Larry loved to fish, hunt, camp, and play cards, especially Sheepshead and Pitch. Talking with family and friends and reading one of his Westerns, with a cup of coffee, were special delights. Larry and Marilyn moved to a townhouse in 2015.
No yard upkeep, less maintenance and house cleaning was a plus for this home. Larry’s struggle with dementia had progressed over the past several years and he was moved to a memory unit in Omaha in April of 2018. Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Marilyn; children, Cindy (Richard) Hanssen of Omaha and Matt Otto of Louisville, KY; sisters, Evie (Ron) Laub and Violet Sheeks of Grand Island; and brother-in-law, Marvin Peters of Grand Island.
He is also survived by grandchildren, Nikolaus (Lacy) Hanssen, Heather (Randy) Peterson, Reid (Megan) Otto, Katy Otto, Drew Otto, Beth Otto and Dereck Miller; and great-grandchildren, Wyatt, Shane and Libby Hanssen and Colbie and Zeke Peterson; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Shelley; and sister-in-law, Marlene Peters. Memorials are suggested to the family to be designated at a later date.
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