Albert John Otten, Jr., 84, of Sullivan County Health Care Center in Claremont, NH, died Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at the Valley Regional Hospital.  He was born in Lynbrook, L.I.N.Y. on March 23, 1924 the son of Albert John and Ida E. (Mott) Otten and had resided in the Claremont and Newport area since 1949.

 He was a veteran of WW II having served in the US Army as a Staff Sergeant.  He was in France and Belgium, Luxemburg and Germany where he was a platoon Sergeant.  He was the recipient of the Combat Infantry Badge, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal and the European Theater of Operations ribbon with three stars which include the Ardennes, Battle of the Bulge and the Rhineland.  He also received the Bronze Star for heroic achievements for leading patrols and a Citation Badge from the State of New York.

He retired in 1989 from LaValley Building Supply in Newport where he worked seventeen years in the store and five years in the office.  He had previously worked for Goddard’s Bakery as a route foreman in the fifties. 

He was a member of the 87^th Infantry Division Association, the Charlestown Memorial V.F.W. Post # 8497, the Claremont Congress of Senior Citizens, treasurer of the Earl M. Bourdon Centre Residents Association and the Silver-Tones singing group of the Charlestown Senior Center.  He was a former member of the Charlestown American Legion and a former thirty year member of the Newport, Mt Vernon Masonic Lodge #15.  A Senior Member of the Board of Directors of Singing Hills in Plainfield and was a former member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Claremont.

He was the widower of Edna Marie (Langdon) Otten whom he married on October 19, 1946 and she died June 16, 2004.

The surviving family includes one daughter, Sandra C. Fowler and her husband, Roger of Newport; three step grandchildren; five step great-grandchildren; also cousins and two aunts.

He was pre-deceased by two brothers, Leonard T. Otten and Edward W. Otten.

A Memorial Service will be held, Monday, July 21^st , at Eleven O’clock in the Stringer Funeral Home, 146 Broad Street in Claremont  with Pastor Scott Kearns, officiating.

Friends may call at the Funeral home on Monday from 10 to 11 AM prior to the services.

Interment with full military honors provided by the Charlestown Memorial VFW Post # 8497 will follow in Pine Grove Cemetery in Newport.

Donations may be made in his memory to Singing Hills, 71 King Drive, Plainfield, NH 03781.

The family wishes to thank the Staff and Nursing Care Professionals of Valley Regional Hospital and Sullivan County Health Care and Haven Health Center of Claremont for their caring support and kindness during many months of his care.