Katherine M Ottinger

.Katherine M. Ottinger, 86, of Knoxville, Tennessee passed away on Sunday, March 26, 2017. She was a woman of intelligence and character and possessed an astuteness that betrayed her age. She would stare deeply into your eyes while she talked and delighted in sharing stories about her family.

She idolized her father and enjoyed sharing pictures of him with others. He was a very musical fellow, who loved to play the euphonium and would climb up into the tallest pine on New Year’s and blast 'Auld Lang Syne' for the whole valley to hear. He even went so far as to cut and paste a picture of a euphonium into his military portrait!

When Katherine was a young woman, she and three other ladies took a cross country drive to California, up the PCH and back to Tennessee. This is amazing because she was the only one who knew how to drive! If you spent much time with her, you would recognize that same fierce independence.

She cared deeply about the history of both her family and of Knoxville in general. She believed her city and her family were inextricably linked. This is unsurprising as her great-grandfather was none other than one-time mayor, Peter Kern, and she had many a Jack Neely book in her home, nestled next to her many other books and alongside an incredible backlog of the Knoxville News Sentinels.

She is gone now, but her memory lives on. She will be missed.

Family and friends will meet at Lynnhurst Cemetery on Monday, April 3rd at 10:00 for a graveside service. Memorial contributions may be made to the Appalachian Service Project, 4523 Bristol Highway, Johnson City, TN 37601 or the Wounded Warrior Project, 4899 Belfort Rd. Ste.300, Jacksonville, FL 32256.Condolences may be offered at berryfuneralhome.com