John Delaware Otter

b. 11 November 1917, d. 20 November 2002
  • John Delaware Otter was born on 11 November 1917 in Fresno County, California, twin of Sidney.
  • Sidney Boswell Otter and Frances Langston Goree appeared in the US federal census of 1 January 1920 in Raisin, Fresno County, California, at Braley Avenue. Other members of the household included John Delaware Otter, Robert Hartwell Otter.
  • Sidney Boswell Otter appeared in the US federal census of 1 April 1930 in Santa Cruz Township, Santa Cruz County, California. Other members of the household included John Delaware Otter, Robert Hartwell Otter. Robert also was enumerated in 1930 in the Santa Cruz household of his mother, who was living in town teaching school.
  • John Delaware Otter died on 20 November 2002 at age 85 in Carmel Highlands, Monterey County, California.
  • He was interred at Mission Memorial Park, Seaside, Monterey County, California.
  • The following appeared on 8 December 2002 in The Monterey County Herald: John Delaware Otter, 85, died of cancer Nov. 20 in Carmel Highlands.
         He was born Nov. 11, 1917, in Fresno. Mr. Otter was a retired professional forester, registered civil engineer and and a licensed land surveyor, inventor and patent holder. Mr. Otter graduated from the School of Forestry at the University of California at Berkeley and later completed civil engineer training through International Correspondents School. He was commissioned in 1942 at the Army Engineer Officer Candidate School at Ft. Belvoir, Va. He served as captain in the 97th Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the construction of the Alaska Highway, then in Southeast Asia in the New Guinea campaign.
         He was a life member of the Society of American Foresters, and a board member and past president of the local chapter, a former board member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping, the Society of American Military Engineers, the American Society of Arboriculture and the California Oak Association. He was also an active member of The Nature Conservancy, a forestry advisor to the Big Sur Land Trust, the Ventana Wilderness Sanctuary, the California Native Plant Society and the Sierra Club. He was a former member of the Carmel Valley Property Owners Association, a board member and chairman of the Carmel Highlands Fire District.
         He is credited with devising Monterey County's fire slope density formula and determining allowable development density in the original Carmel Valley Master Plan.
         The informal collection known as "Hospital Daze" illustrates his keen sense of humor and talent as a cartoonist. He enjoyed playing every brass horn that came his way. Mr. Otter loved canoeing, camping and sailing at his summer home in British Columbia.
         He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jeanette Weld Otter of Carmel Highlands; three daughters, Marjorie Sue Bruneau of Davis, Nancy Clark Otter of Carmel Highlands and Alice Rebecca Fontes of Elk Grove; three sons, Lee Worth Otter of Santa Cruz, John Delaware Otter Jr. of Boonville and Carmel Highlands and Robert Weld Otter of Monterey; nine grandchildren; a sister, Alice Rebecca Otter Moorhead of Claiborne, Md; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a brother, Robert Hartwell Otter.
         Memorial services will be held at a later date.
         The family suggests that any memorial contributions be made to The Nature Conservancy, 201 Mission St., 4th Floor, San Francisco 94105 or Big Sur Land Trust, P.O. Box 221864, Carmel 93922 or Carmel Highlands Volunteer Fire Department, 73 Fern Canyon Road, Carmel 93923 or Monterey Bay Chapter, California Native Plant Society, P.O. Box 221303, Carmel 93922.
  • Last Edited: 25 Jun 2017