Otis F. Piper Obituary (1915 - 2012)

Otis F. Piper, 97, Pontiac, died at 9:30 a.m. Monday (April 23, 2012) at Evenglow Lodge Tjardes Health Center, Pontiac. A Mass of Christian burial will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Pontiac, with Monsignor Thomas Mack officiating. Burial will be at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Pontiac, with full military honors. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. at the church. Duffy-Baier-Snedecor Funeral Home, Pontiac, is handling arrangements. Memorials may be made to St. Mary's Catholic Grade School, Pontiac. Otis was born Jan. 11, 1915, in Oakdale, son of Thomson and Bessie Mahan Piper. He married Florette Cloes on July 22, 1961, in Minonk. She survives in Pontiac. Also surviving are daughters, Betty (Earl) Rients and Kathy (Greg) Weber, both of Pontiac; grandchildren, Eric Rients, Pontiac; Kimberly (Chris) Blair, Riverside; and Jared (Jobana) Weber, El Cajon, Calif.; and great-grandchildren, Piper, Emerson and Avery Blair. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers and five sisters. Otis was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Pontiac. Otis attended a rural grade school near Oakdale, and then attended high school in Nashville. He worked for Schroeder Firestone tire service in Pontiac for 43 years, retiring in 1980. Then he worked at St. Mary's Catholic Grade School in the maintenance department. During World War II, Otis served with a tank unit in the U.S. Army 3rd Armored Division in the European theater for two years, and then served two more years in the states. Otis was a member of the VFW, a lifetime member of the Pontiac American Legion and past member of the Seneca Boat Club. Otis was a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. He greatly enjoyed gardening and he loved his flowers, friends and family.