Hattie Otto

A much-loved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and sister, Hattie R. (Offley) Otto, 80, passed away at her home in Davis, CA on June 1, 2025. She was born on July 27, 1944 to the late Jessie and Bernard (“Barney”) Offley in Park Rapids, MN. She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, Paul Otto, and daughter, Anna Otto (Buck Cutting). She is also survived by her grandchildren, Briana (Iván), Amelia, and Eli, great-grandchildren, Sofie and Caleb, and bothers, Bernard and Jerry (Suzzann).

After Hattie’s father’s returned from serving in WWII, her family moved to Bellingham, WA, where Hattie was raised through her high school graduation. She was excited to head off to college at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, where she met her future husband, Paul. Paul and Hattie married and moved to Rochester, NY where they resided for many years and welcomed their daughter, Anna. Tiring of the winters, the family first moved to Rio Rancho, NM and then Thousand Oaks, CA. Paul and Hattie also lived in San Diego, CA, Pheonix, AZ, Bella Vista, AR, and Cottonwood, CA before moving to Davis to be close to their daughter.

Though Hattie started her college career in New Mexico, she completed it in Rochester, NY. In the 1970s, she earned both her BS and MS degrees from Rochester Institute of Technology in the fields of applied math and statistics. Hattie would often remember being one of the few women in her early college classes in math and science. Hattie’s background in math and science helped her transition into the emerging field of computer programming, where she worked most of her career as a mainframe programmer. She worked in diverse industries, including aerospace, insurance, and retail. Among her proudest accomplishments is being part of the team that designed the heat shield for NASA’s first space shuttle.

Hattie’s main hobby was reading. Anyone who knew her well expected to find her immersed in a book. In recent years she enjoyed participating in an informal “3 Generations Book Group” with her daughter and granddaughter. She also enjoyed participating in the Davis Library Book Club when she first moved to Davis. In earlier years, she and her husband, Paul, enjoyed bowling with local recreation leagues. Hattie and Paul also enjoyed traveling together, including to destinations in Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands. Later travel often focused on locations for Paul’s mineral hobby and business. In addition, she enjoyed watching wildlife throughout much of her life, and had multiple bird feeders outside of her home windows.

A local service to remember Hattie will be held at 10am on July 4, 2025 at the St. James Church in Davis; a reception will follow at her daughter’s home. A small graveside acknowledgement is also being planned for early fall in Hill, NH, where Hattie will be buried in her final resting spot.

The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to those individuals and organizations that helped support them as they cared for Hattie at the end of her life. In particular, they would like to thank the supportive staff at Suncrest Hospice, as well as staff at Courtyard Healthcare Center, Woodland Memorial Hospital, and Yolo County Meals on Wheels.