Doris Otterman,


Doris Clark Otterman, 81, of West Topsham, Vt., died Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008. She had been cared for at home by her family during her struggle with ALS/Lou Gehrig's disease.

She was born Oct. 13, 1926, the youngest of five daughters of Douglas A. and Helen (Parker) Clark.

Educated in Barre, she attended Lincoln School and graduated from Spaulding High School in 1944. Fifty-nine years ago, she married Harvey B. Otterman Jr., who survives her. They made their home in West Topsham where they raised three sons who also survive.

Always a devoted homemaker and mother, her home was the site of many holiday observances which included neighbors and friends who had no family nearby and annual reunions for her extended family

Doris could be depended on to provide music at the churches in West Topsham and East Orange and for school functions when Topsham had its rural schools. Always a sports fan, she actively supported and provided transportation for the local youth baseball teams and in the winter months, Barre youth hockey in its early days at the outdoor rink at North Barre.

She is survived by her husband, Harvey B. Otterman Jr. of West Topsham; three sons, Stephen and his wife, Maureen, David and his wife, Karen, and Thomas and his wife, Donna; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; three sisters, Marjorie Hughs of Boca Raton, Fla., Janet Geals of Montpelier, and Ruth Ann Lyons of Birmingham, Ala.; several nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008 at 11 a.m. in the East Orange Church with the Rev. Candace Ricker officiating. Visiting hours will be Tuesday afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hale Funeral Home, Upper Plain, Bradford. Burial will be in the spring in the family lot in the West Topsham Cemetery in West Topsham.