1-6-1944
Edward Brokamp
Brokamp Rites Held At Ottoville
Edward Brokamp, forty-five, resident of the Ottoville community until last fall, died at the County Home
Thursday of last week. He had been an invalid all his life.
He was the son of Frank and Elizabeth Brokamp and was born at Ottoville on May 31, 1898. His mother
passed away on October 29th of last year, and a brother John, who resides at the County Home is the only
survivor.
Funeral was held from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at Ottoville Saturday morning at nine
o’clock. Burial was made in the parish cemetery.
1-15-1944
Louise Hufford
1-17-1944
Ida Ricker
Mrs. Ricker Rites Monday
Ottoville Citizen Died Monday Evening
Mrs. Ida Ricker, wife of Herman Ricker, of near Ottoville, died in Memorial Hospital, Lima, Monday evening
at eight forty-five o’clock. She underwent a major operation last April and has been in failing health since that
time. She was removed to the hospital Sunday.
Mrs. Ricker was born April 6, 1902, the daughter of John and Catherine Wyant. Her marriage to Mr.
Ricker took place at New Cleveland on November 17, 1937. She was forty-one years, nine months and eleven
days of age at the time of her demise.
She is survived by her husband; four children, Esther, Mildred, Dorothy and Norbert, at home; her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Wyant, Leipsic; and two sisters, Mrs. Monica Stuber, Leipsic; and Mrs. Regina
Meyers, Ft. Jennings.
Funeral services will be held Friday morning at nine o’clock in Immaculate Conception church at Ottoville,
of which she was a member. Interment will be made in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
2-2-1944
Anna Schneeg
Passed Away At Ottoville
Mrs. Anna Schneeg Laid To Rest Saturday
Funeral services were held in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at Ottoville Saturday morning
for Mrs. William Schneeg, Sr., well known resident of that village, who died at her home late Wednesday
afternoon. She had been an invalid for thirteen years and her condition had been serious since the holidays.
Mrs. Schneeg was born at Ft. Jennings on December 12, 1869, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry
Luersman. She was seventy-four years of age.
On November 15, 1893, she was married at Ft. Jennings to Mr. Schneeg. The couple moved to a farm
west of Ottoville until twenty-eight years ago when they moved to Ottoville.
She is survived by her husband; two daughters and a son; Mrs. R. L. Baker, Cleveland; and Miss Lorene
and Gilbert, at home; two sisters, Mrs. Christina Brenner, Dayton; and Mrs. William Martin, Ft. Jennings; a
brother, Henry Luersman, Landeck; and three grandchildren. Two sons and three sisters preceded her in
death.
Rev. Henry Gerwert, pastor of the Ottoville parish, officiated, burial was made in the parish cemetery.
2-14-1944
Carl Rellinger
Ottoville Athlete Killed In Auto-Train Accident
Carl Rellinger Died Of Fractured Skull
Basketball Player
He and His Twin Brother Star Forwards
Carl Rellinger, senior and one of the star athletes of the Ottoville High School, was killed instantly in a
train-automobile accident at the East Fifth Street crossing of the Nickel Plate railroad in Delphos shortly after
noon on Monday. Four other members of the class were riding in the car at the time but escaped injury.
The youth was pinned between the automobile and the train as he attempted to jump to safety. His death
was caused by a skull fracture.
Police Chief Sam Link, of Delphos, investigated the accident and reported that the young men were
traveling west on Fifth Street at a slow rate of speed, and their car skidded on the snow and wet pavement as
their car neared the crossing with the approaching train.
Richard Hoehn, riding on the right in the front seat, opened the door and jumped from the car as he
noticed the vehicle sliding onto the tracks. The Rellinger youth riding in the center of the front seat also
attempted to jump but met his death.
John Van Oss was driving the automobile and seated in the back seat were Carl’s twin brother, Paul
Rellinger, and Gerald Fischbach. None of the youths remaining in the car were injured, and the train which was
reported as traveling at slow speed, caused slight damage to the car.
Witnesses to the accident report that as Carl attempted to jump the train struck the front part of the car
and the rear of the automobile swung around to pin the youth against the train.
Carl and his twin brother Paul, have been outstanding athletes at the Ottoville High School during their
high school career, and Carl had been considered as the star forward on the present basketball team. The
Rellinger twins were known throughout the County for their ability against any team. Hoehn was a regular
guard, and Van Oss also played guard for the team. The victim in the fatal accident was a good student and
was popular among the student and faculty bodies of the Ottoville school.
Because of the fatal accident, L. W. Heckman, athletic coach for the school, issued a statement that the
Ottoville team was withdrawing from the annual county high school tournament scheduled to start in Ottawa
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////missing///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The son of Mr. and Mrs. August Rellinger. He was eighteen years of age. He is survived by his parents; four
brothers, Paul, his twin; Oscar, with the United States Army and stationed at Orlando, Fla.; John and Arthur, at
home; and five sisters, Imelda, Mary, Adelhaide, Isabelle and Lucinda. All at home. His grandmothers, Mrs.
Wilhelmina Rellinger, of Delphos; and Mrs. Mary Flatz, who resides with the Rellinger family, also survive.
Carl, a faithful member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic parish at Ottoville and was affiliated with
the Young Men’s Sodality of that parish.
Last rites were held in the parish church Thursday morning at nine-thirty o’clock. Rev. Henry Gerwert, the
pastor, officiated. Interment was made in the parish cemetery.
3-5-1944
Joseph Freiburger
Burial Made At Ottoville
Joseph Freiburger Died Sunday Morning
Joseph F. Freiburger, resident of Ottoville, died at his home in that village Sunday morning at one forty-
five after an illness of four weeks.
Mr. Freiburger was born at Ottoville on January 29, 1857, the son of John and Eva Freiburger. He was
eighty-seven years of age. He was married in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in October 1889, to
Mary Ann Schneider, who preceded him in death on May 3, 1935. He was engaged in farming until his
retirement several years ago.
He is survived by four sons and a daughters; Fred, of Delphos; Isadore and Bruno, at home; Joseph Jr.,
and Mrs. Irma Sunderland, of Van Wert; a sister, Catherine Distel, of Toledo. Three children and a sister
preceded him in death.
Funeral services were held Wednesday morning at nine o’clock in the Catholic Church at Ottoville and
burial was made in the parish cemetery.
3-8-1944
Paul Marez
3-15-1944
Joseph Giesken
5-4-1944
Catherine Friemoth
6-22-1944
Glen Rayman
8-17-1944
Rose Koetter
10-14-1944
Joseph Gerhard Otte
Joseph Otte Fatally Hurt In Accident
Struck By Automobile At Ottoville, Friday
Funeral Tuesday
Joseph Otte, lifelong and prominent resident of Ottoville, passed away in St. Rita’s Hospital, Lima,
Saturday morning at four o’clock as the result of injuries received Friday evening when he was struck by an
automobile driven by Owen Grubenhoff, twenty, of Ottoville. The accident happened at eight o’clock as Mr.
Otte was crossing the street in the Ottoville business district on his way to a directors meeting at the Ottoville
bank.
Mr. Otte suffered fractures of the ribs and legs, a broken hip, brain concussion and internal injuries.
Sheriff Arnold Potts and County Coroner W. C. Miller investigated the accident, but have not returned a report
on the case, pending further investigation.
Mr. Otte was born in Ottoville on April 3, 1863, the son of Gebhard and Anna Otte. As a youth he worked
for his father in a grocery store and later went into the grocery and dry goods business in Ottoville for himself.
Several years later he formed a partnership with the late J. J. Miller, with the business operating under the
name of J. J. Miller and company. Mr. Otte continued his affiliations with that firm until June of this year when
he retired from active work. He continued to serve as director of the Ottoville Bank and the Ottoville Telephone
Company.
He was united in marriage to Miss Mary Louth, of Delphos, and she died June 18, 1927. Seven children
were born to this union. Two sons died in infancy, and a daughter, Mathilda, died at the age of eleven years.
Another daughter, Mrs. Lucille Ulrich died in November of 1941. Mr. Otte was eighty-one years of age at the
time of his death.
He is survived by three children, Mrs. Amelia Niedecken, of Ottoville; Mrs. Gertrude Siler of Lima; and
Miss Malinda Otte, at home. He also leaves three brothers, Gerhard and William, of Ottoville; and Leo, of
Toledo; and a sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Rekart, of near Ottoville; and ten grandchildren; and three great-
grandchildren.
Funeral services were held in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at Ottoville Tuesday morning.
Rev. Henry Gerwert, the pastor, officiated. Burial was made in the parish cemetery.
11-6-1944
Leonard Gmeiner
Ottawa Man Died Monday
Leonard Gmeiner Rites Friday Morning
Leonard Gmeiner, well known in Putnam County and a resident of Ottawa, died at his home at midnight
Monday. He had been in failing health for the last several years, suffering from infirmities of age and a heart
ailment.
Mr. Gmeiner was born at Fremont, on January 8, 1863, the son of George and Anna Gmeiner. He was
eighty-one years of age. He was married in 1891 to Mary Miller in Ottoville. She preceded him in death
nineteen years ago.
Mr. Gmeiner operated a tile mill and brickyard at Ottoville for twenty years, and then moved to a farm
northwest of Kalida where he resided until 1917, when he moved to a farm southeast of Columbus Grove. In
the past ten years he spent most of his time in Ottawa.
He is survived by four daughters, Mrs. Amelia Reynolds, of Ottawa; Mrs. Ida Ehlen, of Lafayette, Ind.;
Sister Mary Imelda, of Melbourne, Ky.; Mrs. Alma Holtgreven, of Ottawa; and two sons, Rudolph, of Ottawa;
and Ambrose, of Philadelphia; a sister, Mrs. Catherine Leatherman, of Findlay; and a brother, George
Gmeiner, of Ottawa; fourteen grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Three daughters, a son, two brothers, and a sister preceded him in death.
Mr. Gmeiner was a member of the Catholic Knights of Ohio and Sts. Peter and Paul parish in Ottawa.
Funeral services were held in the church Friday morning at nine-thirty and burial was made in St. Mary’s
Cemetery at Ottoville. The remains will be at the Fischer Funeral Home until time for services.
1944
Carl Leis