Douglas Clyde Otto

Douglas Clyde Otto, 92, passed away peacefully on July 4th, 2025, at his home in Mobile, Alabama. Doug, the youngest of John Christian and Janet Sargent Otto's six children, was born in Rochester, New York, on January 19, 1933. Doug was a first generation American - his mother immigrated from Scotland and his father from the Netherlands. His father died when he was two years old, leaving his mother and older siblings to raise him during the hard times of the Great Depression. He graduated from Rochester's Charlotte High School in 1951, entering the United States Air Force in the mid-1950's. In the Air Force, he trained as a Navigator and was assigned to the C-124 Globemaster, first at Brookley. AFB in Mobile, Alabama, and then Charleston AFB, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam, the first with the Air Staff in Saigon and the second year-long tour as a navigator on an EC-47 flying out of Phu Cat Air Base in the Central Highlands He served two tours in Vietnam, the first with the Air Staff in Saigon and the second year-long tour as a navigator on an EC-47 flying out of Phu Cat Air Base in the Central Highlands where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. While in the Air Force, he served at a number of duty stations, notably for five years with Systems Command at Hanscom AFB near Boston, Massachusetts, and at the Pentagon for the last five years of his career. Following his retirement from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1976 with over 20 years of service, he went to work for Litton in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, as a Program Manager where his second career spanned nearly 30 more years. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree and from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering. Following his retirement, he enjoyed his home on Mobile Bay and time spent with family and travel, particularly Hawaii! He is preceded in death by his parents; sister, Dorothy Janet Gilkerson; brother, John Alexander Otto; sister, Elinor Jean Lerner; brother, Stanley Sargent Otto; brother, Kenneth A. Otto; and daughter Lucy Herrington Otto. Doug is survived by his wife Louise Mulherin Otto; sons, Douglas Clyde (Kim) Otto, Jr., Daniel Hull (Toni) Otto, Peter Sargent Otto, and William Harrison (Rachel); daughter, Theresa Harris; eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Doug requested to be cremated, and no public service will be held. Those who wish to honor his memory are invited to make a donation to The Mulherin Home, a place he deeply cared about and supported. The Mulherin Home is located at 2496 Halls Mill Road, Mobile AL 36606

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Douglas Clyde Otto

January 19, 1933 - July 4, 2025