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.
