Rita Mary (Krause) Otto

Rita Mary Otto, Age 92, of Sewickley, PA, originally from Austin, MN passed away on Friday, July 10, 2026. She was born a daughter of the late Hillary Jacob and Patricia Mary Krause. Beloved wife of the late Robert W. Otto whom she married on February 9, 1957. Cherished mother of James Robert (Kathy) Otto of Pasadena, MD and Julia Marie (Mark) Poepping of Sewickley Heights, PA and the late Thomas Matthew (surviving spouse Jane) Otto. Sister-in-law of Carol Krause of Normal, IL, Marilyn DeCoursin of Plano, TX and Trish Ruetten of Onalaska, WI. Also survived by 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. 
Rita's story began in Austin, Minnesota, in a family devoted to work, faith, and community. Her father worked at Hormel on the team that created SPAM, the canned spiced ham that fed a generation, while her mother ran a beauty shop, founded and operated a Catholic library and bookstore, and served as president of the local chapter of the Minnesota Society for Crippled Children and Adults (now Easterseals Midwest). Among Rita's most cherished childhood memories were walks around town with her Grandpa Tom and trips to Grandma Julia's farm in Owatonna to pick strawberries.
Rita received a Catholic education from elementary school through college. At St. Augustine High School she played the title role in Kiss Me Kate, received the American Legion Auxiliary Award, and — to the surprise of no one who ever met her — was voted "friendliest" in her class. She went on to Saint Teresa's College, where a young lady was not permitted to leave campus without a hat and gloves, and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in May 1956.
While visiting a friend in Madison, Wisconsin, Rita met Bob on a blind date, and the course of her life was set. They married right after graduation, and in 1957 Rita earned her first certification from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists at Saint Mary's Hospital in Madison, beginning her long career as a medical technologist — and her new life as an Army wife and mother.
Bob and Rita saw the world together, making lifelong friends at every posting. In the first thirteen years of their marriage, Rita welcomed three children and moved the family seventeen times, including three tours in Germany and a year in Hawaii while Bob served in Vietnam — a year in which she also worked as a med tech at a hospital on Oahu's north shore. By the early 1970s the family settled in Northern Virginia, where Rita ran the laboratory at Circle Terrace Hospital in Alexandria. After Bob's retirement from the Army, they moved to Deerfield, Illinois, where she joined North Suburban Medical Consultants in Niles, and in the early 1980s they made their home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where Rita ran the lab at Western Kentucky University's student health services. In 1997, the American Society of Clinical Pathologists recognized her for forty years of continuous certification.
After retiring from WKU in 1999, Rita devoted herself to researching her family's genealogy, quilting with her church quilting group, and being the best grandma ever to ten loving grandchildren: Mark Otto, Maura (Harry) Palzewicz, Nikki (Matt) Greene, Bill (Rachel) Otto, Bennet (Kyla Dolan) Poepping, Robert Otto, Mathew (Carly) Otto, Ali (Andrew) Reed, Thomas (Colleen) Poepping, and Paul (Stacey) Otto. Each of the ten received a college quilt and a wedding quilt handmade by their grandma.
In 2016, Bob and Rita made their final move, to Sewickley, Pennsylvania, to live with their daughter Julia and son-in-law Mark Poepping. Rita lost Bob in 2018. She lived comfortably in Sewickley with her cats — first Dahlia, then Molly — and many caring helpers who loved visiting with her and hearing the stories of her life, always told with a twinkle in her eye and a ready laugh. This spring, Rita welcomed her eleventh great-grandchild, and over Memorial Day weekend she attended her grandson's wedding, where she delighted in time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The family extends heartfelt thanks to Encompass Health, 3Oaks Hospice, Cornerstone Caregiving, Meals on Wheels, Karen Hornstein, Jim Haupt, Deacon Chris, Paula and Katie Murray, and Kelly Stickley for the kindness and care shown to Rita during her final weeks.
Per her wishes, Rita will be cremated and interred alongside Bob at Arlington National Cemetery, with a Catholic Mass to be held at Arlington at a date to be determined.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rita's memory to Divine Redeemer Parish in Sewickley, PA, or Saint John's University in Collegeville, MN.

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