Those who knew Omar Otterness say lifelong learning was more than a pleasant pursuit for the 26-year professor of religion at St. Olaf College. It was central to his daily life, to his relationships, to how he connected with his family — from his days as a college student in South Dakota to his decades leading classes of retirees well after his own retirement.

"He really believed that retirement should not be the end of thinking and intellectual pursuits," said Nancy Biele, executive director of Toward Renewed Unity in Service Together (TRUST), who worked with Otterness to enrich seniors' lives. "He left a legacy."

Otterness, 98, died April 11, at the Northfield Retirement Center. His daughter Carol Spencer said he was an eager student — and teacher — to the end.

"Even up until a couple of months ago, he paid close attention to the political campaigns, reading columnists, keeping up with the paper," she said of her father, who even participated in book clubs with former students. "He had such a need for conversation and discussion, and not the trivial kind of thing."

Otterness was born Dec. 21, 1918, in Brookings, S.D. He attended Augustana College and received a bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of Illinois. He met his future wife, Margery, at a retreat in Estes Park, Colo., a place they would return to each summer with their children. They were married June 9, 1944, after his graduation from Luther Seminary and ordination.

In 1947, they went to China to begin missionary work but were driven out in 1948 after the Communist takeover. Otterness continued his study of theology after returning to the U.S., earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

He joined the faculty at St. Olaf College in 1960, teaching until 1986.

John Barbour, who became a colleague in the Religion Department in 1982, recalls Otterness' deep interest in world religions. The department once focused only on the Lutheran Church, Barbour said. Now, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam are explored. "He evolved from spreading the Gospel to genuine intellectual interest in how other world views were formed and what Christians could learn from other world religions," he said.

Otterness also became deeply committed to immersion into the world's cultures through study abroad. He was co-instructor of the Rome Interim program in 1973 and faculty coordinator of Global Semester in 1973-74 and the Middle East Semester in 1977-78.

"He was an early leader of our global programs. He believed that if we could see other lives, other cultures, we could be self critical to our own culture," Barbour said.

A sabbatical with the Ebenezer Society in Minneapolis led Otterness in the late-1980s to feeding that hunger for learning among fellow retirees. He helped start the Cooperative Older Adult Ministry in south Minneapolis, which later merged with TRUST.

"Dad was always studying, he was always learning new things," Spencer said. "I remember family dinners spent discussing the day, talks while we went for walks together."

An avid hiker, bicyclist and photographer, Otterness visited 31 countries over his lifetime.

David Otterness, his son, said a woman stopped to offer condolences after learning of Otterness' death: "She said, 'Your dad was in our discussion group. We just loved him.' "

Otterness was preceded in death by his wife, a daughter, a sister and four brothers. He is survived by a sister, Alice Hoaglund of Modesto, Calif.; children Rolf of McMurray, Pa.; Joann Espinosa of Omaha, Neb.; Mark of Roseville; David of Northfield, and Carol Spencer of St. George, Utah; five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. May 2, at St. John's Lutheran Church, 500 W. 3rd St., Northfield.