The Rosary Service for Mary "Pat" Ottman, age 84, longtime Lemmon educator, will be held at 10:30am MT followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00am MT on Friday, December 11, 2015 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Lemmon with Fr. Tony Grossenburg, officiating.

The Burial will be held at 11:30am on Monday, December 14, 2015 at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis with full military honors.

Special music will be provided by Connie Bootz, organist and Sadie Dominguez

Serving as casketbearers are Cody and Ashley Ottman, Arlin and Todd Bartels, Russell Umback, and David Armstrong.

Mary Patricia Armstrong "Pat" was born on November 11, 1931 at Saratroga Springs, NY to John E. and Mary O. (McKinney) Armstrong. She attended St. Peters Academy in Saratoga through the eighth grade and graduated from high school in 1949. Pat graduated in 1953 from the College of Mount St. Joseph On-The-Ohio in Cincinnati, OH with a Bachelors Degree in English. Pat joined the Women's Army Corp on August 16, 1957 as a 2nd Lt. She received her Officer Basic Training at Ft. McAllen, AL. She served at the Presidio of San Francisco, CA and at Ft. Bliss, TX as a WAC Recruiting Officer. She was honorably discharged from the Army on March 15, 1961 with the rank of 1st Lt. Pat had met Willard Ottman who was also an Army soldier stationed in Ft. Bliss, TX. They were united in marriage on August 13, 1960 at Ft. Bliss, TX. The Ottman's lived in Wurzburg Germany from 1961 to 1964 while Willard was serving in the U.S. Army. There they had German friends whom they continue to correspond with. Five children were born to this union. Willard Jr. at Saratoga Springs, NY; Arthur J. at Wurzburg, Germany; Stacy M. at Lemmon; Kilian J. at Lemmon, and Gerard J. at Hettinger, ND. She taught school at St. Joseph's Academy in Cleveland, OH from 1953 to 1955, the Welmark School in Cleveland from 1955-1956 and in 1977; she began teaching English and Journalism at Lemmon High School. While teaching at Lemmon High School she was widely known as "Mrs. O", building friendships and positive influence on many students. She retired in 1996. Pat was also a Girl Scout Leader for several years. She was a Substitute Teacher for many years after retiring. Her last place of employment was at the Petrified Wood Park Museum where she worked as a Museum Guide, and much enjoyed visiting with visitors to the museum. Pat and Willard did extensive travelling in Europe and the United States. Pat traveled to 49 states and 14 foreign countries. For their 25th Wedding Anniversary, Pat and Willard traveled to Germany to visit Stacey who was an exchange student and Arthur who was stationed in the Army. On their 40th Wedding Anniversary, they toured Greece which was the highlight of their travels.

She was a member of St. Mary's Altar Society, the Brattvet Green American Legion Post #66 of Lemmon where she served as Finance Officer and Adjutant, and served on the Lemmon Library Board. Pat passed away on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at Five Counties Nursing Home in Lemmon.

Surviving family members include her husband, Willard; her daughter and son-in-law, Stacey and Miguel Dominguez, Oakland, CA; four sons and daughters-in-law, Willard Jr. and Dawn Ottman, Lemmon, SD; Arthur and Joni Ottman, Hudson, NH; Kilian Ottman, Duluth, MN; Gerard Ottman, Enderlin, ND; five grandchildren, Cody and Ashley Ottman, Dexter, Sadie, and Alan Dominguez; a step granddaughter, Tracey Lavigne; a brother and sister-in-law, John and Diana Armstrong, Saratoga Springs, NY; two nieces, Dana (Terry) O'Connell, and Faye Carter, a nephew, David (Susan) Armstrong, and a brother-in-law, Alan Ottman, Lemmon, SD. She was preceded in death by her parents.


Visitation will be on Thursday from 1:00 to 9:00pm at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Lemmon and on Friday one hour prior to services at St. Mary's Catholic Church.

A memorial has been established.