Elizabeth "Betty" Otis

Elizabeth “Betty” Jane DeAugistine Otis (nee Altenhein), a.k.a, Grandma Bunny, was born on August 21, 1931, in Dunmore, PA, to Charles Altenhein and Ruth (nee Hardenstine) Skinner. Before giving her the obligatory spank on the bottom, the obstetrician fitted Betty with a tiny pair of rose-colored glasses, which she had the great fortune of seeing the world through for the next 89 years. Her childhood among the slag heaps of the mining town was far from prosperous, but Betty found delight in every small thing. Her fondest memory was of waiting on a bench at the end of the lane for her grandfather and uncles to return from work at the foundry, and the prize she’d find inside Pa’s lunch pail: half a ketchup sandwich that he'd save for her. There was reverence in the retelling.

Betty moved to Niagara Falls, NY, with her mother when she was 14. She graduated from Niagara Falls High in 1949 and went on to attend Trott Vocational School, where she earned her degree as a licensed practical nurse. Betty met the handsome H. Richard (Dick) DeAugistine soon after, and they married on June 21, 1952. They welcomed their first daughter, Diane, into the world on September 29, 1953. A talented infant, Diane would perform the astonishing feat of standing ram-rod straight, balanced in the palm of her father’s hand. Their second child, Debra, arrived on December 11, 1956, and to her father’s great disappointment, her performance was that of a “wet noodle.”

In 1958, the family moved to Lewiston, NY, and Betty dedicated her talents to homemaking, gardening, birdwatching, and volunteering as a Welcome Wagon lady and Sunday school teacher. She later became the leader of Diane’s Girl Scout troop. Taking the moniker “Gypsy,” one of her deep-woods skills was being able to belt out the Tarzan yell, to the awe and delight of her charges (step aside, Johnny). With the girls in school, Betty started dabbling in selling Tupperware, which led to a career spanning over 30 years. When she became the manager of her own unit, she needed to give it a name: Betty’s Bunnies was born, and Betty became known as Mama Bunny to dozens of salespeople. Nothing could keep Betty from a Tuperware party, and she’d drive over an hour in a snow storm to sell her wares.

Betty and Dick separated in 1965, then divorced, and in 1966, she met and married Clifford Otis, and welcomed three step-children into her home. Betty reveled in her busy and hectic life with a houseful of kids and all their friends. The family had a terrible scare when, at the age of 39, Betty was diagnosed with breast cancer. After recovering from a mastectomy, she reclaimed her life at full speed. As the kids left the nest one by one, Cliff and Betty took up bowling and painting and enjoying more time with friends.

If anything eclipsed the love of her children, it was her absolute devotion to her grandchildren. Five granddaughters came along in quick succession, starting in 1977. The chrysalis was shed; Grandma Bunny emerged. It was a well-known phenomenon that whenever the parents turned their backs, Grandma Bunny would coach a child to accomplish a “first”: crawling, sitting up, standing, walking, talking, singing. One year, under the influence of her kid-crazy euphoria, she talked Cliff into buying a Winebago, and they surprised the granddaughters with a trip to Disney World.

The second string of grandchildren started arriving years later (finally some boys!), and by 1994, the contingent of family living in Ithaca was too much to resist, so she retired from Tupperware, packed up a lifetime of memories in Lewiston, and ventured to Ithaca to build more. No time with her grandchildren was ever wasted: walking in the woods behind her house and naming the trees, baking, arts and crafts, stories. Every birthday cake was a masterpiece in frosting: Niagara Falls, Starry Night, a portrait of a wolf that looked lifelike (“It took me until 4 a.m. to get the fur right! I. The night of the Leonid meteor shower of 2001, Grandma Bunny bundled the five grandchildren into sleeping bags on the back deck to witness the spectacle. Scores of Ithaca school children kn Grandma Bunny, as she implemented a daily rotation of volunteering in each grandchild’s classroom —  a tradition she maintained through the elementary school years of her great granddaughters. When she wasn’t presiding over a horde of grandchildren, she could be spotted wielding a pickaxe in her rock garden or watching the birds in their feeders.

After Cliff died in 2012, the family realized that she was experiencing mental decline. Alzheimer’s claimed her, and her mind deteriorated over the next several years until the family had to place her in a nursing home. She was lovingly cared for by the staff at Cayuga Ridge for three years, until we brought her home on July 31st. After having been separated from her family since March because of Covid, she enjoyed being surrounded by family 24 hours a day, until the seventh day, when she decided she needed a rest. She passed away very peacefully the morning of August 6th.

Betty loved the Lord. She didn’t need to ask herself “What would Jesus do?” because kindness and grace were her very nature. She lived her life in service to God, her family, and her community, and the love and selflessness with which she conducted herself was apparent to everyone she met.

Betty was predeceased by her parents; her husband, Clifford E. Otis; her daughter Diane DeAugistine; and her stepson, Clifford D. Otis. She is survived by her daughter, Debra DeAugistine; stepdaughters, Cheryl (Donnie) Gordon and Christine Otis; grandchildren, Jessica DeAugistine, Amy Stone, Jennifer Russ, Shanda Schmidt, Sara Meeder, Heather Finch, Cassie Perry, Natale Rogers, Elias Rogers, Alec Saari, and Leah Saari; great grandchildren Michael DeAugistine, Emma Stone, and Sophia Stone; son-in-law, Rick (Vicki) Rogers; special friends John Wolf and Diane Greene; and her beloved dog, Holly.

A private graveside service was held at Enfield Christian Cemetery, officiated by Pastor Bill Lower from West Hill Community Church. Donations in Betty’s name can be made to the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes.

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