Mildred A. Otstot

Mildred (Millie) Otstot, 99, passed away March 12, 2023, at Messiah Village in Mechanicsburg. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 76 years, James (Jim) Otstot. Born in 1923 in Bloserville, Pennsylvania, Mildred was the daughter of the late Clarence and Rebecca Jumper.

After her graduation from Newville High School, Millie attended Penn Central Business School for secretarial training and then worked for the Farm Bureau Insurance Company. During World War II, when Jim was stationed with the Navy on the U.S.S. Vulcan, she kept in touch with him by writing letters faithfully. In December 1944 when he was on shore leave, they were married. Afterward she did some secretarial work, but her primary role was as a homemaker, wife, and mother.

Millie had a gift for spreading cheer to everyone around her. She was good at feeding guests with her traditional Pennsylvania Dutch cooking, especially the pies that Jim loved so much. As a volunteer at the Carlisle Hospital and the Fireside Cafe, her job was hospitality. By writing newsy letters and cards, she kept in touch with friends and family at a distance, even at the age of 99.

Millie learned the joy of singing during her childhood in Bloserville, where she sang around the piano with her sister Flossie and her brother Creedon. She shared her strong alto voice and talent for harmonizing with many church choirs through the years and became a charter member of the Sweet Adelines organization in Carlisle. In the Hopewell neighborhood at Messiah Village, she enjoyed the singalongs, especially when the leaders played familiar hymns.

Millie and Jim shared a love of nature and spent many days in the woods picnicking, hiking, and camping. From her parents, who grew vegetables, strawberries, and gladiolus in a huge plot behind their house, Millie inherited a love of gardening. She grew beautiful flowers and arranged bouquets for her home. It was easy to identify the Otstot cottage at Messiah Village because of the showy marigolds and geraniums in the front and tomatoes, lettuce, coreopsis, and phlox in the back. Millie felt very close to God in her garden as she tended her plants and marveled at the miracle of God’s creation.

Mildred is survived by daughter Bonnie Getty and son-in-law, Kenneth Getty Jr., of Virginia; daughter Pamela Scott of California; granddaughters Denise, Christine (and husband George), and Stephanie; and great grandchildren Grace and Henry. Her grandson Spencer died in 2020 of Covid.

A private burial was held for the immediate family. A memorial service will be held at a date to be announced later.

The family is requesting donations in Mildred’s honor to the Endowment Fund for Benevolent Care, Messiah Lifeways at Messiah Village, or the Messiah Village Church, both at 100 Mt. Allen Drive, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055.

To sign the guestbook, please visit www.HoffmanFH.com.