Violet Otterbacher

Violet T. Otterbacher, 96, of Zion, Illinois, met her Lord face to face early in the morning on the first day of the week, August 16, 2009, at Williams Bay Care Center, Williams Bay, WI, where she had lived and was lovingly cared for the past 5 years. She was born February 8, 1913, in rural Stoughton, WI, to Albert and Nellie (Nelson) Jerdee. In 1921, she moved to Zion with her family to participate in the vision of the Christian Catholic Church. She was a 1931 graduate of Zion Preparatory College. On March 17, 1932, she married Calvin Dwight Otterbacher at the First Presbyterian Church in Rockford, IL. Violet was a devoted Christian, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and church member. She enjoyed her home and her gardens, lush with flowers and vegetables and did a lot of canning. Some friends called her "the pickle lady" because of her many gifts of delicious canned pickles. She was a student of the Bible, sang in the church choir, and knew all the sacred hymns by heart, which she sang and listened to until the day she died in Christ. She is survived by her son Robert (Diana) Otterbacher of Hebron, IL; her grandchildren Timothy (Lisa) Otterbacher of Whitewater, WI, Jonathan (Danielle) Otterbacher of Muskego, WI, Elizabeth (Adam) Burns of Shorewood, Wi, John (Melanie) Escobar of Vienna, Austria, and Margaret (Andrew) Waren of Blacksburg, VA; her great-grandchildren Kaylee, Calvin, Kolton, Helaena, Willow, and Joel Otterbacher, Isabella, Charles and Carolina Burns, Griffin and Tyler Warren; and her brother Leo Jerdee of Williams Bay, WI. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her son Calvin Duquesne "Duke" Otterbacher, and a grandson Jeffrey Duquesne Otterbacher. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at Christ Community Church, 2500 Dowie Memorial Drive, Zion, Illinois, with Pastor Jon Wiziarde officiating. Interment will follow at Pineview Memorial Park, Beach Park. Visitation will be Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the services at the Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be given in her name to the Catholic Charities Senior Service Program, 116 N. Lincoln Avenue, Round Lake, IL 60073.