Carolyn B. Otto

Carolyn Beth Otto was born in November of 1958 in Petaluma, California, daughter of George Wesley and Janice Nicholson Otto. She moved with her family to Colorado Springs in 1959, when her father was called to be the founding minister of Broadmoor Community Church and has lived in the Springs for most of her life.

Earning her BA degree from Colorado College in 1980, Carolyn was awarded a Masters degree in English from New York University in 1989 and shortly became a copy editor for Harper and Row publishers. At that time she became a published author of children’s books, creating over 20 books during the years of 1990 - 2009. She worked as a free lance author on contract from a variety of publication companies including: Harper Collins, Disney Press, Smithsonian Institute, Scholastic and her most recent four books for National Geographic’s “Holidays Around the World” series. Many of her books - especially her science books for children from toddler to pre-teen are still being read in homes, libraries and schoolrooms around the country, leaving her legacy for others to enjoy.

Carolyn was married to Ross Couper in Colorado Springs in 1990, and even after their divorce he remained her closest friend and companion.

Between 1994 and 2004, Carolyn worked as a part-time bookseller at Colorado Springs’ favorite bookstore, the Chinook, during which time she and her dog Belle spent several months each year in her trailer in Kino Bay, Mexico, creating whatever book she was currently writing. Trailer traveling to various western states whenever she had the chance was always a great road trip adventure.

During her younger elementary school days, she became a voracious reader. In the summer, riding her horse in the pasture in the Bear Creek area was a favorite pastime. Carolyn was a passionate downhill skier beginning from her days at the Broadmoor Ski School where she earned the coveted black hat, preparing her for skiing with graceful elegance throughout the Colorado Rockies. Carolyn spent one month each summer with her family in a cabin on the shores of Daggett Lake in Crosslake, Minnesota, joyfully swimming, fishing, water-skiing and building her own version of a compound for her pet turtles.

Carolyn is survived by her mother, Janice Nicholson Otto of Colorado Springs, her brothers Stephen Pratt-Otto of Brookline, Massachusetts and Wesley Davis Otto of Boca Raton, Florida. Her loving aunts, uncles, cousins, sisters-in-law, and nephews, along with her many friends, provided Carolyn with a fruitful and fulfilling life. We all will miss her greatly.

A “celebration of life” service will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. at the Broadmoor Community Church, 315 Lake Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado 809806. A reception will be immediately in Otto Hall.

If you wish, the family would be grateful for contributions in her name to Peak Vista Community Health Foundation, 722 South Wasatch, Colorado Springs 80903.

Arrangements under the direction of Swan-Law Funeral Directors, Colorado Springs, CO.