In Memoriam

Donald B. Otis '39
He was a man of great principle

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Donald Otis '39 started UNH at age 16 and graduated when he was just 20. He played three sports—football, hockey and lacrosse. His teammates nicknamed him Zip because he was 6 feet 3 inches and thin as a zipper. Otis was sitting in front of Huddleston Hall with his brother Stan '39 on the day he first set eyes on Eleanor Gay '41. She had just arrived at UNH to study social work. Don said, "There's the woman I'm going to marry." On their first date, Don and Eleanor went ice skating, and later she stood outside night after winter night, watching him play hockey. They were married the April after Eleanor graduated.

During World War II and the Korean War, Otis served as a U.S. Air Force officer, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. He went to work for IBM in 1952 and remained with the company until he retired in 1982. He held many positions, including controller of a New York plant and treasurer of IBM World Trade.

"He was a man of great principles," Eleanor says. "He was an honest, hard-working man. He was ambitious and serious about his job but very loving, very family oriented. He was just a great all-around guy."

Otis was dedicated to UNH. He served as his class president for more than 60 years, and in 2001, he was elected to the Athletic Hall of Fame. His seats for home football games were at the 50-yard line, top row, center, and he sat there regardless of the weather. His son, Stephen Otis '69, remembers taking his parents to a home game when his dad was in his 80s. The rain was torrential. Steve borrowed some chairs and found seats inside the Field House with a perfect view. Just prior to the game, his father said, "You don't watch football from inside. You have to experience the weather and the elements to get the real feel of the game." And so out he went, into the downpour.

In his 60s, he played in a UNH alumni hockey game. He had to quit after the first period because the stitching in the CCM skates he was using—the very same ones that he had worn at UNH in the 1930s—came apart.

He had a strong sense of patriotism and of what was right. And, says Steve, "He wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed in." If someone did not remove his cap when the national anthem was played, his father would say something. "If someone was not treating a lady with respect, he would call them on the carpet. He conducted himself that way in business as well."

The Otises' three children, including Cynthia Otis Lindemeyer '66 and Diane Otis Keleher '80, all graduated from UNH. Otis is also survived by nine grandchildren, including David Lindemeyer '91 and Erin Keleher '10, and 11 great-grandchildren. "He was very successful in his business life, but I would say it was his family that he was most proud of," Steve says.

Don Otis died in his sleep on May 23 at the age of 93. He used to joke, "All I ever did was ask her out on a date," but both Don and Eleanor freely acknowledged that they had, as Eleanor says, "a good life together."


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