[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 38 (Monday, March 10, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E414-E415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF JOHN DELAWARE OTTER

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 10, 2003

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of John 
Delaware Otter. He passed away on November 20, 2002, at the age of 85, 
surrounded with family at his home in the Carmel Highlands. He is 
survived by his wife of 60 years, Jeanette Weld Otter; daughters 
Marjorie Sue Bruneau, Nancy Clark Otter, Alice Rebecca Fontes; and sons 
Lee Worth Otter, John Delaware Otter Jr., and Robert Weld Otter.
  John was born on November 11, 1917, in Fresno, California. Upon 
graduating from the School of Forestry at the University of California 
at Berkeley, he later completed civil engineer training, and eventually 
served as Captain in the 97th Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  During WWII, John was sent to work on the Alaska Highway. With the 
Japanese occupying parts of the Aleutian Islands, the Army commissioned 
a road to be built connecting the

[[Page E415]]

lower 48 to Alaska so supplies could be transported to Alaska. In 1942, 
John, the company commander, worked through winter temperatures so low 
that the oil in the trucks froze in order to complete the ALCAN 
Highway, now known as the Alaska Highway. He continued his service in 
the South Pacific as an engineer.
  A registered civil engineer and licensed land surveyor, John 
dedicated the remainder of his life to the environment of the Central 
Coast. He worked for the California Department of Forestry and was a 
board member of the California Oak Foundation, the American Society of 
Civil Engineers, the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, the 
Society of American Military Engineers, the American Society of 
Arboriculture, and the Carmel Highlands Fire District, where he was 
also the chairman. He is credited with devising Monterey County's first 
slope density formula, for determining allowable development density in 
the original Carmel Valley Master Plan.
  While many of his accomplishments involved the forests and state 
parks, John loved the Pacific Ocean enough to call it his favorite 
``fishing hole.'' He appreciated the marine life tremendously and that 
appreciation evolved into a need to protect the marine environment. 
Carmel Bay State Ecological Reserve existed thanks to the efforts of 
John, and was the forerunner to the National Marine Sanctuary.
  An honest person with a great sense of humor, John wouldn't talk 
about himself because he was humble to the core. Once, he pulled his 
car over to make a phone call from a public telephone and found a dime 
in the change slot. He used that dime to make his call, and before 
leaving the booth, he reached into his pocket and replaced that dime 
with one of his own. He was that kind of guy, and he made people around 
him feel like they could be anything they wanted because he treated 
them with an equal amount of respect, instilling a sense of pride in 
the individual. Treating everyone with honor made him honorable.
  On behalf of this House, I wish to celebrate the extraordinary life 
of ``Jack'' Otter, a man whose honesty and ingenuity made for better 
lands and better people.

                          ____________________