POULSBO — Emma Otis credited her long life to an active outdoor lifestyle, eating oatmeal every day, and even enjoying a little rock ‘n’ roll.
And a long, active life she enjoyed: As a child growing up in Gig Harbor, she regularly rowed across Tacoma Narrows to Point Defiance. As an adult, she climbed Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Constance. She lived on her own until she was 105, tending to her garden and lawn until she was 100.
The state bird is the goldfinch; you can thank Otis for that, as she’s the one who proposed and lobbied for it. And if you’ve ever enjoyed Girl Scout camp at Camp St. Albans in Belfair, you have Otis to thank for that too, as she helped found it.
In fact, she remained dedicated to the Girl Scouts of America all her active life — she believed in the empowerment it gave to young women — and was the oldest Girl Scout member. So it came as no surprise that when she passed away in her sleep the morning of Oct. 25, three days after her 114th birthday, “she was holding her cherished Girl Scout doll,” Sigrid Howard of Liberty Shores Assisted Living reported.
“I’ve had a wonderful life with her,” said her 91-year-old daughter, Doris Davies, who lives in the Hansville house her mother helped build. “We’re going to miss her … the kids learned a lot from my mother, and her life touched many, many people.”
Davies said her mother’s graveside service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Nov. 27 at Mountain View in Tacoma.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, based at UCLA, Otis was the oldest Washingtonian, the second-oldest American, and the 10th oldest person in the world.
She and her husband, firefighter Robin “Bob” Otis, married in 1921 and raised two daughters and a son. Her husband passed away in 1961. Their family now extends to five generations: nine grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 23 great-great-grandchildren with four more due in January and May.
AT A GLANCE
Born: Emma Gustava Erikson on Oct. 22, 1901 in Lawson, a coal mining town near Black Diamond, to John and Emma Thoren Erikson. Otis’ parents hailed from Fjellbacka, Sweden. John Erikson was superintendent of mines at Cumberland.
Childhood: She rowed regularly between Gig Harbor and Point Defiance. She delivered newspapers in Crescent Valley and walked her rural paper route in two hours.
Career: She was a nurse in Tacoma at 16; later became a leader in Girl Scouts and Rainbow Girls.
Family: Her late husband, Robin “Bob” Otis, was a career firefighter. They had three children. Their family now extends to five generations: nine grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 23 great-great-grandchildren with four more due in January and May.
Milestones: Helped found Camp St. Albans in the 1930s, lobbied successfully to have the American goldfinch named Washington’s state bird. Was the oldest member of the Girl Scouts of America, oldest living Washingtonian, second-oldest American, and the 10th oldest person in the world.
She climbed Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens and Mount Constance. She rode a camel in Egypt when she was in her 80s. She mowed her own lawn until she was 100 and lived on her own until she was 105.
