Lore B. Otten, 83, who fled Germany during the rule of Adolf Hitler and became the president of a Chicago chapter of the Zionist women’s group Hadassah, died of cancer Wednesday, Feb. 13, in her home in Sarasota, Fla. Born in Schorndorf, Germany, Mrs. Otten went to grade school in Stuttgart and received her secondary education in Berlin. She was learning to be a kindergarten teacher when her family fled the Nazis. She left the country with nothing but a crate of her household goods, for which she had to pay the government. She moved to Detroit to be with two of her brothers and began to work as a governess for a wealthy lawyer’s family. She met her future husband, Eric, at night school. He, too, had fled Germany, and they were married in 1940. When his job transferred him to Indiana, the young couple moved to Hyde Park. They raised their children in Beverly and settled ultimately in Oak Brook. While her husband became successful in business, Mrs. Otten raised her children, was active in the local Jewish community and worked to support Israel. She joined Hadassah and in the late-1940s helped her husband found Temple Beth Torah, which has since closed. After their children had grown, the couple began wintering in Sarasota. In addition to her husband, survivors include a son, Ronald; a daughter, Linda; and her brother, Helmut Anspach. Funeral services have been held.
