Mary Frances Otts March 17, 1919 – March 15, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers Sign Guestbook| Send Sympathy Card Mary Frances Byrd Otts died at home in Brewton, AL, on March 15, 2019. Mrs. Otts would have been 100 years old on March 17. She was preceded in death by her parents Henry Carson and Addie May Byrd of Wilmington, NC, her siblings Henry Carson Byrd, Jr., Jennings Byrd and Dorothy Byrd Hardy, and, finally, by her beloved husband of 67 years, Lee McMillan Otts.
Mrs. Otts is survived by four daughters: Harriett Godwin (Mike), Beth Sutton all of Brewton, Alabama and Mary Lee (Joe) Watson of Spanish Fort, Alabama, and Frances Maxwell (Chip) of Nashville, TN. She is also survived by six grandchildren: Liz Godwin Wilson (John) and Mary Godwin Menge (Radcliff) of Birmingham, Michael Godwin (Allison) of Montgomery, David Maxwell (Liz) and Lauren Maxwell of Nashville, and Emmalee Sutton of New Orleans. There are also six great-grandchildren: Riley, Mary Pace and Curry Elizabeth Godwin, Lee and Harry Wilson and John Menge.
Mary Frances was born on March 17, 1919, in Wilmington, NC. She was a graduate of New Hanover High School and East Carolina University where she earned a degree in history and business. She taught high school for several years, and in 1944, joined the American Red Cross.
She went with the Red Cross to Cirencester, England, where she helped operate a clubmobile that served soldiers at various hospitals around the city. It was there that she met her future husband Lee Otts who was recuperating from injuries he received during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war ended, Mrs. Otts continued to work with the Red Cross in France and Germany.
Upon returning to the United States, Mrs. Otts worked for a time in Los Angeles, CA, and in her hometown of Wilmington. In 1948, she married Lee Otts, of Greensboro, AL, and they moved to Brewton where he began a law practice. Mrs. Otts worked a short while at the Department of Human Res and was an active volunteer in the Brewton Civic League, Meadorwood Garden Club and, especially, the First Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Otts will be remembered for her love and dedication to her family and church, for her adventurous spirit, and for the fact that—despite being totally blind for at least the last ten years of her life—she never complained. Private Family Graveside Services are scheduled for Sunday afternoon March 17, 2019 at 2:00 P.M. Union Cemetery with Rev. Parker Johnson officiating and WILLIAMS MEMORIAL CHAPEL FUNERAL HOME OF BREWTON, ALABAMA DIRECTING.
Public Funeral Services will be held Sunday afternoon March 17, 2019 at 3:00 P.M. at the Brewton First Presbyterian Church with a reception immediately following in the fellowship hall.
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