Elizabeth Cress Otten

MERIDEN - Elizabeth Cress Otten, 83, of 320 Colony St., died Monday, Feb. 11, 2002, at the Bradley Home Infirmary. She was the wife of the late Rev. Frederick W. Otten. Born in Greensboro, NC, Nov. 30, 1918, she was the daughter of the late Ernest Monroe and Ollie Troutman Cress, Sr. She was a graduate of the Peabody Institute of Music and the Deaconess Mother House of Lutheran Churches, both in Baltimore, MD. She had been employed as a deaconess in various Lutheran churches in Baltimore and Brooklyn, NY and served as an Associate Minister at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Meriden until her retirement in 1990. She is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Ernest and Alice Cress, a niece, Sherry Barnes; two greatnieces, Trina Herrell and Angela Rowland, all of Morehead City, NC and a stepdaughter, Kathryn Kay Bowen-Smith of Jupiter, FL. A graveside service will be held Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Walnut Grove Cemetery. The Rev. Perry L. Beaver will officiate. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Feb. l6, at 1 p.m. at the Immanuel Lutheran Church. There are no calling hours. If desired, contributions In Mrs. Otten's memory may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church, 164 Hanover St., Meriden, CT 06451 or to The Bradley Home, 320 Colony St., Meriden, CT 06451. Arrangements are under the direction of the Beecher and Bennett Flatow Funeral Home, 48 Cook Ave., Meriden.