Otto Praeger, III

Otto Praeger III was the only child born to Otto Praeger, Jr. and Kitten Crowell Praeger on Januay 8, 1933. He grew up in Amarillo, Texas. After graduation from High School, he attended Texas Technological College and graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering. During his college years, he courted and married Ruth Anne, to whom he was married 65 years. He was hired by The Boeing Company after college and moved to Wichita and within a year son Joe was born. Shortly after starting with Boeing, he took a leave of absence and joined the U.S. Air Force where he became a pilot. This change took them to Great Falls, Montana where daughter Gretchen was born. Upon completion of his military obligation, the family returned to Wichita and he resumed his position with Boeing where he worked for 40 years. His career there included field support on B-47 and B-52s and when the KC-135 program moved from Seattle to Wichita, he expanded these activities to include tankers. At the time of his retirement in 1993, he was the Customer Support Manager for the Boeing Defense and Space Group, Product Support Division. The majority of his years at Boeing were spent as Chief Accident Investigator for the Department of Defense contract with Boeing Military. With close to 100 investigations, he traveled the world figuring out “what went wrong.” In many cases, he was an expert witness in post-accident litigation and with great pride always found out what had happened. Otto was a very proud man and loved his career accomplishments but more than anything, he loved his family. Wife Ruth Anne, Joe, Gretchen and their families were his world. His children blessed him with 5 grandchildren, Katie, Maria, Linzy, Erin and Justin. The Lord found it best to call his beloved Maria home so she predeceased her Grandpa in 2011. Katie and Geremy (Owen) have two sons, Maxwell and Jackson and reside in Ft. Myers, Florida. Linzy lives in Amarillo, Texas. Erin and Brent (Baker) reside in Overland Park, Kansas with daughters Vivian and Tess. Justin French and Meghan Bratt reside in Denver, Colorado with son Harrison. Otto will be remembered for his love of Model A cars and the Wichita As Car Club for which he was a member many years. He was an avid reader and a problem solver. He was an Engineer in every sense of the word and loved to solve puzzles and always find the answer. Otto passed peacefully with family by his side. There is peace knowing he no longer hurts or struggles with the health issues he was dealt. He will be forever missed and loved by the family he so dearly loved himself. Memorial Service will be at 10:00 am, Thursday, November 21, 2019, at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church. Preceded in death by his parents, Otto, Jr. and Kitten Praeger; granddaughter, Maria Jo Praeger. Survived by his wife, Ruth Praeger; daughter, Gretchen, both of Wichita; son, Dr. Joe (Mary) Praeger of Amarillo, TX; grandchildren, Katie (Geremy) Owen of Ft. Myers, FL, Linzy Praeger of Amarillo, TX, Erin (Brent) Baker of Overland Park, KS, Justin (Meghan Bratt) French of Denver, CO; great-grandchildren, Max and Jackson Owen, Vivian and Tess Baker, and Harrison French. Memorials have been established with: Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 8021 W. 21st St. N., Wichita, KS 67205; Envision, Inc., 610 N. Main, Wichita, KS 67203.