Share this pageGeorge J. and Marcella Ott
- Details
- Published on Friday, 04 April 2014 20:42
- Written by Stanton O. Berg
The Ott’s - 1996
---
Both George J. Ott and his wife Marcella were two of the many victims of Alzheimer’s and both died as a result of this terrible disease.
George was born May 24th, 1914 to George and Ethel (Hine) Ott at Meteor, Wisconsin. George graduated from Rice Lake High School in 1933.
George Ott was the first to go and passed away on January 8th, 2000 while a resident of the Rice Lake Convalescent Center at the age of 85. Internment was at Nora Cemetery.
Marcella Ott followed a few years later on December 27th., 2011 at age 95. Marcella spent the last two years of her life as a resident of the Rice Lake Convalescent Center. (14 March 2009 – 27 December 2011.)
Marcella was born on 1 September 1916 in Proctor, Minnesota to George and Mary Kunesh. Marcella's internment is also in Nora Cemetery.
Their daughter Sandra described her parents Alzheimer’s dementia….
“My Dad passed away…from complications of (Alzheimer’s) dementia. Mom took care of him and helped him deal with it for about 2 years when it became impossible for her to care for him. He spent a few months in an assisted living facility and about 1 week in the hospital before passing.”
“Both Mom and Dad showed signs of memory loss and confusion 3.5 – 4 years previous to their death…Mom was very aware of our family and could converse with us up until the end…Dad could not and was unable to feed himself for about 6 months…Mom did it for him in the nursing home twice a day until the end.”
“Mom’s health was otherwise good but her mobility and Alzheimer’s dementia were of great concern at the end. Mom was 95 years old.”
George and Marcella were blessed with a long and a loving marriage of over 61 years. George and Marcella were married on September 15th 1938...
George started his own Radio Repair shop on Eau Claire Street in Rice Lake, Wisconsin in 1936 following his graduation from the Coyne Electrical School (1935) in Chicago. His business flourished and was later expanded to cover Television sales and service. June and I purchased our first TV Set (Motorola black and white) from George in 1953. George retired in 1976 after over 40 successful years in the business.
George was an avid coin collector as well as a deer hunter and enjoyed fishing.
Sandra tells how her Mom and Dad: “enjoyed taking bus tours…they were in Alaska and Florida and to the East and West coast. They also enjoyed having us take them to Vegas and the Casinos around Rice Lake…they looked forward to our family get-togethers and loved seeing the grandchildren and great grand children grow up…”
George and Marcella were survived by their children, a daughter Sandra Beffa (Brad) and son Richard (Roberta) as well as 4 grand children and 4 great grand children.
George a man of faith, was active in his local Presbyterian Church in Rice Lake where he served as a Deacon and Usher.
June and Stan's Special Relationship with the Ott's
I had a very special relationship with George and Marcella…I lived in the Ott home during my last year as a senior in Rice Lake High School. My parents had moved from our home on a small farm south west of Rice Lake and relocated to Arland just before the start of my senior year. (1945-1946). They started a small Country Store and gas station at a busy county road intersection in Arland. (Wayside Grocery) Because I had completed the first three yeas of my high school in Rice Lake, my father Tom made arrangements with his friend George Ott to provide room and board for me in order to permit me to complete my senior year and graduate from Rice Lake High School. George and Marcella provided me with an upstairs bedroom and meals for the five day school week. I would return to Arland on weekends. As a result I graduated from Rice Lake High School in the class of 1946. I very much enjoyed my stay with the Otts. It was a home with a pleasant atmosphere. George who was an archery enthusiast, took me under his wing and taught me archery. We spent several late afternoons in the Ott backyard practicing Archery. I recalled he was an out doors man and enjoyed deer hunting and fishing.
In later years, George made it possible for June and I to purchase our first home in Duluth in 1954. I had served 4 years in the US Army during the Korean War and after my discharge in 1952, I married June. During my army years, I had only been able to save a portion of the money that was needed for a down payment on a home…even with the GI Bill guarantees of federal loans for servicemen, home purchases in those days required 20-25% down payment…George heard of our dilemma and without any request on my/our part, he offered to loan us the additional $1000 we needed as a down payment in order to buy our first home…because of George’s personal trust and his generosity, June and I were able to buy our first home in the Lakeside area of Duluth…George will always have a special place in our hearts…
The last time June and I saw George and Marcella was at George’s funeral at the United Presbyterian Church in Rice Lake on 11 January 2000. The Reverend David Butler officiated. George's internament was at Nora Cemetery. At that time, June and I were in our third and final home and lived in Fridley, Minnesota.
June at the time of George’s funeral was just starting the fourth (4) year of her own 12 year journey into the shadows of Alzheimer’s.
---
Reader's Comments
Louise Ann Howard - Batemans Bay, New South Wales, United Kingdom - (4 April 2014): "Very moving story. What friendship support. We need more folk like that is the world. Yes getting a home is hard. We are lucky to have a roof over our heads we are very thankful too. A lot of hard effort but worth it. Thanks for the story...Thank you. We were just talking about having a house and I was reading this lovely story. I feel for folk these days trying to get a home. I am very very fortunate to have had a man that provided well for his family. I never take things lightly. Health life in general and everyday things. Yes many are worse off but we have to look after ourselves too. Keep well as you can."
Lora Rushing Robinson - Benton, Louisiana - (4 April 2014): "awwww, I remember reading about them in one of your memory posts on june's page about your different houses or something, true blessings...God bless, I must go read some more of June's pages...it has been a while, and I always love when I do."
Catherine Jones-Hatcher - Richmond, Virginia - (5 April 2014):"They were the type of friends we all wish we had!"
---
June's Passing
After an almost 12 year journey into the shadows of Alzheimer's, early one morning in late October 2008, an exhausted June felt God's gentle touch on her shoulder and heard the words: "Come Home June!" As June lay like a wounded soldier on a battlefield, it was God's Angels that ushered June into a Heavenly Kingdom to the sound of a chorus of Angels...and into June's new home, a "Mansion on the Hilltop", where there is no pain, nor illness nor tears...June's funeral notice as published in the Minneapolis Star in October 2008 can be seen on this website in the drop down menu under the "In Memoriam" label - just Click on:
"June K. (Rolstad) Berg - In Memoriam"