Otto Frederick Goers, 96

Otto Frederick Goers, 96, a former longtime resident of Dundee, Ill., and then of Sun City West, Ariz., died Dec. 1, 2011, in a Phoenix hospice center. He had suffered a severe stroke nine days earlier.

Born April 27, 1915, in Dundee, to first generation German immigrant parents, "Otch" learned at a young age the value of hard physical work and a strong faith in God. Graduating high school during the darkest days of the Great Depression, it wouldn't be until after World War II that he found steady, full-time employment. He often reminded his sons, however, that those lean times were also a time of close and loving family companionship — where the practical joke was the communal currency.

During those years Otto became a watchmaker at the Elgin Watch Company in Elgin, Ill., and later established a home-based watch and clock repair business. Much later in his working life, his mechanical problem-solving skills led him to become a self-taught tool and die maker. He loved that work.

Otto married Carol Austin, a native of Woodstock, Ill., in 1942. They raised five sons in the same Dundee house where he himself grew up. He and Carol retired to Sun City West in 1980, where they formed lasting friendships in the bowling league, he in tennis and SCW Prides. They worshipped at Crown of Life Lutheran Church, as charter members.

Though a widower for 16 years. Otto lived in his own home until this July, when he moved to McDowell Village in Scottsdale, Ariz. He spent his final four months enjoying the company of new friends and a faith community there.

Otto was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Emily Goers; his eight siblings; and his wife, Carol.

He is survived by sons, Richard and Eleanor of Hinsdale, Ill., Gary and Alana of Kalispell, Robert of Elgin, Mark of Palatine, Ill., and Michael and Connie of Scottsdale; 10 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

Donations in honor of Otto may be made to Crown of Life Church, 13131 W. Spanish Garden Dr., Sun City West, AZ 85375, for its Braille ministry; Trinity Lutheran Elementary School, 495 Fifth Ave. WN, Kalispell, MT 59901; or The Church at Creston Lutheran, 5447 Montana Hwy. 35, Kalispell, MT 59901, for its building fund.