Friends of Harry Otis say
the longtime Omaha trial lawyer was the kind of guy a city like Omaha
needs.
He was a staunch
supporter of the arts and an author of several books about the
community.
But, his daughter said,
Otis was proudest of the fight he successfully led in the 1960s to
fluoridate Omaha's water.
The 82-year-old died
Thursday at University Hospital of a heart attack.
The Omaha native left the
city to attend Overland College in Ohio, where he graduated in 1942.
He entered the Navy and
served in World War II.
Otis' next stop was
Columbia Law School. He returned to Omaha after graduation in 1948 and
became a partner in what is now the Gaines, Pansing & Hogan law firm.
His military service
resumed during the Korean War, and he eventually left the Navy as a
lieutenant commander.
He retired from the firm
in 1986.
Otis was a major
supporter of Opera Omaha in its infancy. Sometimes he would even pitch
in as a member of the chorus, said his daughter, Betsy Campbell of Cary,
N.C.
Otis wrote one book and
co-authored two more with a friend, Donald Erickson.
Services for Otis will be
at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
In addition to Campbell,
survivors include his wife of 52 years, Beverly Otis of Omaha; sons,
Robert and Andrew of Omaha; daughter, Sarah Otis of Mercer Island,
Wash.; sister, Martha Hess of Omaha; and brothers William and Roland
Otis of Omaha.
