J. Norse Ottem

home surrounded by family and friends.

He was a graduate of Greeneville High School and a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

He earned a B. A. in History from the University of Montana, and a M.A. in History at East

Tennessee State University.

He was a retired Greene County teacher, past member of Central Baptist Church, a current

member of First Baptist Church. He was an active member of the Elbert Kinser Marine Corps

League, the Sons of Norway and the Tennessee Retired Teachers Association.

He is survived by his wife: Mrs. Marsha Ottem; one son and daughter-in-law: Dr. Erich Norse

Ottem and Mary Martin of Marquette, MI; one son: Jonathan Matthew Ottem of Atlanta, GA;

one brother and sister-in-law: Hans and Karen Ottem; a special aunt: Jessie Smith; a special nephew: Ronald S. Ottem;

special nieces: Sherry and Melissa Ottem and Stacey McDonald; nieces and nephews: Josiah

Ottem, Lydia Ottem, Artemas Ottem, Jotham Ottem, Caleb Ottem, Obadiah Ottem, Jachin Ottem

and Sarah Ottem; special cousins from Norway: Nikki Smith, Roger Albrigtsen and family, Jorgen Jorgensen

and family, Brit and Odd Henry, Ole and Kari Olsen, Kare and Anne Ottem; and very special

friends of the family: Hoyle D. Hyberger, the Michael and Dianne Miller family and Reverend

Greg and Mary Howell.

He was preceded in death by his brother: Archie Ottem; his mother: Madge Smith Ottem; his

father: Johan E. Ottem; and a nephew: Shannon Ottem.

The family will receive friends 1-3 and 5-7 pm Wednesday at Kiser-Rose Hill Funeral Home.

The funeral service will follow visitation at 7 pm in the funeral home chapel. Reverend James

W. Best, Dr. Bill Hall and Rev. Dr. David Green will officiate.

Family and friends will meet at 9 am Thursday morning at the funeral home to go in procession

to Mt. Hebron Cemetery for the 10 am committal service. The Greene County Honor Guard and the

Tennessee National Guard will conduct a military graveside service.

Pallbearers will be Jerry Ayers, Hart Covington, George Heppe, Jonas Hurley, Lloyd Morelock

and William Patton.

Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Rufus Breckenridge, Paul Cook, Guy Davis, James Holder, Bob

Hurley, Nick Kidwell, and the members of the Elbert Kinser Marine Corps League,

Detachment 615.

Norse Ottem was born to Johan, a Norwegian immigrant, and his wife, Madge Ottem of

Ottway in 1939. Growing up, he was proud to call the Camp Creek and Sunnyside areas home.

In his later years, he loved to reminisce about riding his horses between the two communities to

visit friends.

Following graduation from Greeneville High School, he served his country by joining the United

States Marine Corps. He also served for several years in the Marine Corp Reserves. After his

Marine Corp service, he attended the University of Montana at Missoula to pursue a B.A. in

History. During his time in college and for several years after, he worked for the United States

Forest Service in several capacities, including forest fire fighting.

His 36 years as an educator began in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho and led him back to Greene County

to teach at Ottway Elementary, South Greene High School, and North Greene High School.

While Social Studies and History were the focus of his classroom instruction for the first 20

years of his teaching career, he went back to school to become certified in Spanish education,

which he dedicated himself to teaching in the last years of his career. Always one for the

challenge, he traveled to Spain to attend an intensive Spanish education program at the

University of Madrid.

While in Spain, he witnessed the legendary Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

He proudly embraced his Norwegian heritage and traveled to the land of his father in 2000 and

again in 2007. There, he connected with relatives who shared stories of his father and his

hometown of Bodo, Norway. Back in Tennessee, he was an active member of the Vikings of the

Smokies, the Knoxville chapter of the Sons of Norway.

Among his passions, were a love of nature and the mountains of East Tennessee and Western

North Carolina. An avid hiker, he walked the trails of the Appalachian Mountains until the last

year of his life. He had a personal goal of hiking to every named waterfall in East Tennessee,

and by all accounting this goal was reached.

He was a faithful Christian whose faith in God never wavered, and was an active and observant

church member. His kind and humble nature was a guiding light to both family and friends

alike. A friend one said of him, “He loved his family, his church, and his God. He never once

told an off-colored joke, nor did he ever gossip about a fellow traveler.” He was a loving father,

a loyal friend and a mentor to many young people. A family friend who as a young person

remembered him said, “He would only raise his voice to get your attention and then drop it back

down. His authority never overpowered the love he had.”

In his final year, he was afflicted with the debilitating and fatal disease amyotrophic lateral

sclerosis (ALS; also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease). True to his Christian faith, he never once

complained, never once questioned the fairness of his situation.

Memorials may be made to the ALS Association, Tennessee Chapter, P.O. Box 40244,

Nashville, TN 37204 or at Http://www.alsa.org/donate/. Additional memorials may be made to

the Building Fund at First Baptist Church at Greeneville, TN.