Otoman (Otto) Sorge

If you’re thinking about ordering octopus as your entree, please stop and consider Otto Sorge, enormous fan of these brilliant creatures and the heart and soul of his family. Otto was known to kindly lecture any eatery who dared list his tentacled friend as a menu option.

Otoman Henry Emanuel Sorge passed away after a short illness on July 3, and it feels impossible that he is no longer here.

There’s so much to be said about Otto. There are so many things that feel important, but it would be too lengthy to include them all. His life was long and well-lived.

Here are just a few of the valuable lessons we were lucky to learn from Otto during the ninety years he spent on earth.

• If you break your leg right before a family trip, you can still teach your daughters to body surf with the skilled use of a plastic garbage bag and some tape to cover your cast.
• Adopt a cat no matter how old or ornery they are. You’ll soon find yourselves the very best of friends.
• If you get lost while hiking, never worry, there’s always a side road up around the bend. Hopefully.
• Always keep your head held high.
• Sing songs, real or made up, on all road trips.
• Be the person who always shows up.
• Plaid shirts go with anything.
• Equality for all is the key that unlocks everything.

Born in Encinitas, California, Otto was always a fan of the sea (and its inhabitants). He spent his youth surfing, and then attending USC Film School, where he fell madly in love with the magnificent Wendy Cope. The two of them moved to Seattle, where they started a family, and Otto began working in the film department at Boeing, eventually becoming the Executive Director.

Growing up, he attended all of his daughters’ school plays, god bless him, and soccer games and even founded and coached The Lily League, a softball league for girls so that his daughters could play ball.

Otto also had a passion for nature. He brought his daughters along for hikes in the Sierra Nevada, along the coast of Washington State, and they all crossed countless lakes together in his bright blue canoe.

More than anything, Otto loved his family. He had an easy laugh and loved nothing more than to be surrounded by all of them, listening to stories and sharing his own.

Otto leaves behind three of the proudest daughters in the world, Stacy Hall, Laura Sorge and Paula Sorge Moynihan; his sons-in-law, Jim Hall and Tim Moynihan; his beloved grandchildren, Alex Hall and Lauren Hall; and his grandson-in-law, Ben Harper; as well as sister-in-law and exercise partner, Jill Bartlett; and brother-in-law, John Cope.

Every one of us will do our very best to live up to Otto’s extraordinary example of what it is to be a decent, kind person in this world. And we will continue to avoid any restaurant that includes octopus on the menu, in honor of our hero, Otto Sorge.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to The World Wildlife Fund or the Sierra Club. And if you find yourself on a long car ride, remember to sing.