Otis Allen Hay was born in Los Angeles, California, on November 6, 1922. He passed away peacefully on February 12, 2012, at the age of 89, nine days before his 70th wedding anniversary with his loving wife, Roberta.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Grover and Birdie Hay and his son, Don Hay. He is survived by his wife, Roberta; his daughter, Nancy (Jim) Witter, and their children, Jennifer (Scott) Lerch and Susan (Michael) O’Leary; his son, Cliff (Nikki) Hay, and their children, Melani (Alex) Pedroza, Kristi (Jimbo) Harris, and Will Hay. He was also blessed by eight great-grandchildren, Kyle and Nicole Lerch, Conor and Violet O’Leary, Heather and Logan Pedroza, and Brett and Lucy Harris.
Otis graduated from Lincoln High School in Tacoma and then served in the Army/Air Corps during World War II.
He joined the Tacoma Fire Department in 1949, and retired in 1975, as the Training Chief. He enjoyed the outdoors, especially Roberta’s old family cabin at Evergreen on the Queets River and the new cabin on the Clearwater River where he loved to fish, hunt, dig clams, dip smelt, and cut firewood.
Otis was the Charter President of the Clearwater-Kalaloch Lions Club and served as a member for 34 years. He was an active member of the Tacoma Elks Club for over 20 years.
After his retirement, he and Roberta set out to see Alaska on their boat. It was a trip they thoroughly enjoyed, especially the fresh fish, crabs and clams they caught along the way. They also enjoyed extensive traveling the world, visiting all seven continents. Not long before his death he was quoted as saying “I’ve had a wonderful life”.
A memorial service will be held for Otis at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21, 2012, at Fire Lane Memorial Chapel in Spanaway, Washington, with a reception to follow. A private family burial service will be held Tuesday morning at the New Tacoma Cemetery. Please sign the online guestbook at www.firlane.com.
