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  • JOSHUA B. OTTS

    JOSHUA B. OTTS
February 1, 2013

JOSHUA B. OTTS [Cumberland]

Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — Joshua Benjamin Otts, of Cumberland, peacefully passed to the other side on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013 after 35 years sojourning on Earth. 

He follows his father-in-law, Leo Marchand, paternal grandparents, Frances and Louis Otts, biological paternal grandparents, Grace and Ro-bert Oliver, and his beloved maternal grandmother, Cynthia Knight.

He was welcomed into this world in Leonardtown, on March 31, 1977.

He grew up in St. Mary’s County and married the love of his life, Catherine Marchand, on Oct. 15, 2005 as the setting sun illuminated the autumn leaves on Homestead Farm in Grantsville, one of his favorite places. 

Josh leaves behind his wife, Catherine Otts, Cumberland; mother, Cyndi Knight, Cumberland; father, Bert Otts and his wife, Soralla Facey de Otts, Bowie; his sister, Ann-Marie Valdez and niece, Ayla Valdez, San Marcos, Calif.; his grandfather, Harry Knight, Grants-ville; biological father, John Oliver, Garden City, Mich.; and a host of in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and longtime friends.

An animal “whisperer” from a young age, he nurtured cats, snakes, frogs, and even an alligator. Josh also had a gift with green things. He used his encyclopedic knowledge of plants to help people find the perfect greenery for their yards and to create beautiful landscapes for them to enjoy.

Josh didn’t walk his journey through this world, he skipped along his path. He took risks which sometimes led to soul-trying times but also gave him many moments of great joy in even the simplest of things. He was prodigiously creative and met new experiences with enthusiasm. Whether he was playing guitar and singing, building and flying model airplanes (and once, a model hovercraft made from scratch), or fishing — especially fishing, he never did anything by half-measures. 

Everyone who loved Josh enjoyed his quick wit, warm spirit, and big heart. He strived to live a life exemplified by his favorite song, “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It can be said truly of Josh, “He was a character.” And he played his role with gusto and to perfection.

“A butterfly lights beside us, like a sunbeam. And for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world. But then it flies on again, and although we wish it could have stayed, we are so thankful to have seen it at all.” — author unknown.

Services will be private.

In lieu of flowers please make memorial donations to the Amputee Coalition of America, 900 East Hill Ave. Suite 290, Knoxville TN 37915-2566 or at www.amputee-coalition.org.

Condolences to the family may be made at www.brinsfieldfuneral.com.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown.

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