Eleanor Otto

Eleanor Otto, age 96, passed away August 26, 2023. Eleanor was raised in Wenatchee by her parents, Ed and Lillian Roehl. She graduated from WHS in 1945, from WSU in 1949 and married Len Otto in 1949. Eleanor and Len lived in Port Orchard until his career with the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) took them to posts in Libya, Haiti, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia and Washington D.C. After retiring in 1976 they made their home in Spokane and built a vacation home in one of their favorite places in the world, Stehekin. Eleanor moved back to Wenatchee 6 years ago to be closer to family. She spent her last year at Maple Lodge Adult Family Home - close to where she had grown up on Pershing St. Eleanor’s life was guided by her faith. As she grew older, she seemed to live by a prayer that was found in her Bible : Prayer for the Aged “Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older, and will someday be old. Keep me from getting talkative, and particularly from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every occasion. Release me from craving to try to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details - - give me wings to get to the point. I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others’ pains. Help me to endure them with patience. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains - - they are increasing, and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint - - some of them are so hard to live with - - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Make me thoughtful, but not moody, helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all - but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.” At the end of her long life Eleanor had more than a few friends. She maintained relationships with former classmates, co-workers, neighbors, numerous family members and more recently the loving caregivers at her last home. Eleanor is survived by her brother, Sam Roehl of Bellevue, by nieces, Janet Thomson (Kirk) of East Wenatchee, Susan Risinger of Wenatchee, Lynn Clark (Herb) of Woodway. WA., Lisa Pascualy (Rafael) of Seattle, Juli Lindquist (Tom) of Mercer Island, and Carol Bremmer (Darrell) of Ruidoso, N.M and by nephews Steve Roehl (Ginny) of Newcastle and Ed Erickson of Edmonds.

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Eleanor Otto

August 2, 1927 - August 26, 2023