On February 15, 2025, Mary Carolyn (Hais) Otto, 82, of Salem, NH (late of Columbus,
IN), passed away peacefully, surrounded by her four loving children. After spending her
final days with her family at her bedside, Carolyn left to rejoin her beloved late husband,
Doug Otto, in a better place.
Carolyn was born in Cincinnati, OH in 1942, to parents Charles and Mildred (Doyle)
Hais. She was the eldest of five children in a close and loving family. Always a star
student, Carolyn spent a year at Barat College, in Lake Forest, IL, before longing for her
family brought her back home, where she then earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
at the University of Cincinnati. It was there that she met and fell in love with fellow
student Doug, whom she married in 1964. In 1968, with two of their eventual four
children in tow, they moved to Columbus, IN, where they would settle and make lives for
themselves and their then young family over the ensuing 55 years. During her years in
Columbus, Carolyn was loved by many friends whom she met through her involvement
in tennis, bridge club, euchre club, and her forty-year strong Support Group who
continued to include Carolyn remotely in their bimonthly meetings until her final days.
Throughout her working life, Carolyn was consistently involved with promoting the
welfare and education of children. She spent various periods nurturing very young
children in daycare, teaching children’s tennis lessons through her innovative Little
Winners program, and later, with her College Choice program, helping ambitious high
school students navigate the maze of college scholarship and financing programs.
However, Carolyn’s reigning passion was for her family. Throughout her life she directed
her indefatigable energies into giving love and support to her husband, her four children,
and her ten grandchildren. She was unfailingly kind, even while fiercely protective of
them all. Throughout her life, she always had energy for trips to amusement parks,
ferrying kids to sports and engaging in endless games with her kids. As a grandmother,
Carolyn made sure each grandchild knew they were her “favorite.” She made frequent
trips to visit her grandchildren, always incorporating lots of art projects, stories, games,
sleepovers, special days and hours of imaginary play.
She is survived by her four children, Greg Otto, Cindy Murtagh and husband Kevin,
Mike Otto and wife Meaghan, and Elizabeth Syrek and husband Matt; her ten
grandchildren, Lauren Murtagh and husband Aidan Donovan, Alison Murtagh, Caroline
Murtagh, Meaghan Murtagh, Patrick Otto, Cameron Otto, Nolan Otto, Mallory Syrek,
Annabel Syrek and Ashlyn Syrek; her four younger siblings, Peggy Fleming and
husband Ron, Susan Cupito and husband Tom, Chuck Hais and wife Mary, and Jodi
Hais, along with 17 nieces and nephews.
Her funeral mass will be celebrated in St. Augustine Church, 43 Essex Street, Andover
MA on Saturday March 29 at 9:30 am.
In lieu of flowers, and in honor of Carolyn’s lifelong commitment to the nurturing of the
very young among us, the family requests donations be made in her name to Children,
Inc. Learning Center in Columbus, IN (https://www.childreninclearningcenter.com).