Otto W. Maender

Otto William Maender, loving husband, father, and grandfather, research chemist, sportsman and sports fan, self-taught fruit tree arborist, gifted writer and humorist, and all around kind and gentle man went home to be with the Lord on June 20, 2025. In his later years, Otto faced the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease with grace and valiance. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by the love of family, eyes on Heaven, and music in his heart.

Born to German immigrants Otto Karl and Luise (Weinbrecht) Maender on January 18, 1940, Otto spent his first nine years in Bayside, Queens, New York where he and his brother often shot marbles at the street curb with neighborhood kids—playing for baseball cards and bragging rights. It was on those city sidewalks and backyards, amid the chatter of passersby and loud engine sounds of wartime bombers flying in formation overhead, that Otto learned many life lessons and also forged his lifelong love of the New York Yankees. When his family moved to upstate New York, they traded the busy city streets of New York for a small dairy farm in the scenic quietude of the Catskill Mountains. There, Otto learned the value of hard work, early mornings, frugality, and persistence—themes that would echo throughout his life. In later years, after the dairy operations had ceased, Otto transformed part of the farm into an orchard of apple and pear trees, along with a row of blueberry bushes—all of which he lovingly tended whenever he had the chance to visit.

He graduated as salutatorian of the Margaretville Central School Class of 1957, and was a natural scholar whose curiosity and desire to learn and make a difference in the world would fuel an impressive academic career. Otto worked for a year to earn money for college and then went on to earn his B.S. in Chemistry from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 1963. At RIT was where Otto met the love of his life, Kay. They were married on June 15, 1963 and soon after drove their VW Beetle all the way to Ames, IA where Otto earned his Master of Science Degree from Iowa State University in 1965. Otto also earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Georgia in 1968.

That same year, Otto began his distinguished 30+ year career with the Monsanto Corporation’s (later Monsanto/Flexsys) Rubber Chemicals Division in Akron, Ohio, where he specialized in research involving the vulcanization of rubber. His contributions quite literally kept the rubber on the road: he was awarded 22 U.S. patents, contributed to over 40 foreign patent applications, and had 6 publications in technical journals. His innovations helped improve the safety, performance, and durability of tires used by all major U.S. tire manufacturers– tangible contributions that helped move the industry and world forward.

But Otto was more than just formulas and chemistry—he was also a humorist. In the 1990s, he brought his clever wit and cartooning talent to Rubber Network, the internal Monsanto/Flexsys newsletter. Under the pen name, El Dorado daVinci, he infused the workday with much-needed levity. While his scientific expertise earned respect in labs and boardrooms, it was his sharp sense of humor that sparked smiles and laughter throughout offices and break rooms alike.

Otto was a devoted athlete who found just as much joy in sharing his love of sports with others as he did in playing them himself. Of all his athletic pursuits–which included baseball, basketball, badminton, tennis, and soccer, it was soccer–the beautiful game–that held a special place. A collegiate player at RIT, Otto later spent over a decade coaching local boys' teams and high school JV squads. As girls' and women’s soccer took root in the 1980s, he stepped in without hesitation to coach his wife’s women’s team and daughter’s travel team, bringing tactical know-how, top notch sportsmanship, and of course his never ending encouragement and positivity to every game and practice. Otto remained a lifelong athlete, staying competitive as a dedicated tennis player through his 70s. Among his proudest athletic moments was winning the South Carolina State Doubles Championship (over age 75, 3.5 division)—proving that no one should ever give up chasing a dream and “even old geezers can make it happen” as he quipped in that year’s Christmas letter to friends. Otto was also an avid fan of just about every sport— basketball, baseball, soccer, football, tennis, and the Olympics, taking particular joy in cheering on his grandchildren through their athletic pursuits–from soccer and tennis matches to baseball games–when he could.

Beyond the sidelines and courts, Otto’s world revolved around family and music. He found joy in attending all sorts of instrumental music concerts from professional orchestral ones to his children’s and grandchildren’s school concerts. He also sang the tenor part in his church choir with pride and gusto, and would break out singing patriotic songs on the 4th of July or any day of the year really.

Through all of life’s moments, Otto lived by a powerful and steady motto: do things “the right way,” and always maintain a Positive Mental Attitude—PMA! His optimism and integrity guided his relationships, his work, and the many lives he influenced along the way. Otto’s advice for living the best life a person can live that he shared with his family is: Trust in God, never lose your courage, and use your special talents and gifts to leave the world in a better place than when you came into it. Based on Otto’s life, he most definitely took his own advice.

Otto William Maender leaves behind a world that is smarter, lighter, and more loving because of him. In every carefully chosen word, every well-struck ball, every harmonious note, every humorous pun, and every quietly kind gesture—his legacy lives on.

Otto is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Kay C. (Fix) Maender; his brother Norman R. (JoAnn) Maender of Scotia, NY; his daughters Laura L.(Jeff) Lawson of Mooresville, IN, and Kara L. (Pete) Phillips of Clarksburg, MD; and his cherished grandchildren David A. Lawson, Amanda L. Lawson, Peter O. Phillips, Kurt W. Phillips, Keanan C. Phillips, and Penn P. Phillips. He is also survived by his brother-in-law William (Joyce) Fix of Tarpon Springs, FL; sister-in-law Sandra Fix Palmeter; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother-in-law, Alan Palmeter.

Please consider participating in your local Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s to help raise awareness and combat this horrible disease.

A celebration of life ceremony will follow at a later date.