It is with sadness that I share the news of the passing of my aunt, Ottilie Marie (Murray) Gledhill, who left us on January 31st, 2025, at the age of 103. She has been a resident of the Dallastown Nursing Center in Dallastown, Pennsylvania since August 2019.

Ottilie was preceded in death by her most beloved husband, James E. Gledhill. She will be lovingly remembered by her niece and nephew: Marilyn and Richard Daly; great nieces: Susanne Daly and Jessica Stanier and nephew: Jason Stanier; cousin: Janet Perry; as well as her very dear friends: Lynna and Ed Ross.

Ottilie was born on August 29th, 1921, in Philadelphia, PA to Joseph and Mary (Eschstruth) Murray. Ottilie, which is a very unusual and difficult name that has plagued Ottilie her entire life, was named after her maternal grandmother, Ottilie (Steuber) Eschstruth, who immigrated to the United States in 1880 from Germany with her husband and family. Ottilie's mother was only 6 years old when they made that voyage across the Atlantic.

Ottilie grew up on 9th Street in Philadelphia and spent most of her life in the Philadelphia area. Her family lived for a few years in Gardner, MA where Ottilie graduated from Gardner High School in 1939. She returned to Pennsylvania to attend West Chester State Teachers College (now West Chester University) in West Chester, PA. She graduated in 1943 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education/specializing in Early Childhood Education. Ottilie taught third grade for 41 years at Roslyn Elementary School in Abington Township, PA. One of her good friends and fellow teacher recently commented that "Ottilie was stern but pleasant and very caring of her students. She enjoyed socializing with and entertaining her fellow faculty", While teaching, she furthered her education in guidance counselor training at West Chester and also earned a Masters degree in Elementary Education Counseling at Temple University in 1952.

As the only child of Joseph and Mary Murray, Ottilie lived with and later cared for her parents. She and her parents moved from 9th street in Philadelphia to Abington in 1969. She was devoted to her parents until their deaths in 1971 and 1972. After her parents' deaths, Ottilie travelled abroad to England, lreland, and Norway. A constant in Ottilie's life has been her faith and her dedication to St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Abington. She had a very close relationship with the late Reverend Brewster Hastings and his wife Pam.

Ottilie was a very independent woman with strong convictions. The best example of Ottilie's independence was when, in 2002 at the age of 81, Ottilie eloped to marry James E. Gledhill, the love of her life. This was the first marriage for both of them. Ottilie and Jim frequently travelled to their two favorite cities, Washington, DC and Williamsburg, Virginia. Ottilie enjoyed decorating their house in the Williamsburg style. Ottilie is known for having things "just right" as was evident in her immaculate home and her perfect table settings. She and Jim loved to entertain friends and family. They spent most of their holidays with Jim's family in York, PA. When Jim suddenly became seriously ill and was hospitalized, Ottilie stayed at his bedside until his final passing. As Ottilie says, "We had 6 wonderful years together, but we were hoping for 10."

After Jim's death, Ottilie became even closer to Jim's family in York-Martha Gledhill (sister-in-law) and Marilyn and Rick Daly (niece and nephew) and Ottilie spent most of her holidays with them in York, often driving herself from Abington to York. She loved to drive and continued to drive into her early 90s. Ottilie's last exciting travel adventure was a trip to Arizona with Martha, Marilyn and Rick to visit her great niece, Susanne Daly, who was working on her PhD at Arizona State University. As a first-generation college graduate, Ottilie had a deeply ingrained respect for higher education and was very proud of Susanne's achievements. ln addition to education and anything Williamsburg, Ottilie loved cats, kittens, bacon, watermelon, red raspberries, and ice cream.

When Ottilie developed some health issues in 2015 she moved to Country Meadows Retirement Community in York to have the needed support and to be closer to Marilyn and Rick in Dallastown. While living at Country Meadows her health dramatically improved and she was able to live in a small, assisted living apartment filled with some of her Williamsburg treasures. Her favorite day of the week was "Bacon Thursday." At Country meadows she had the opportunity to spend time with her great niece and nephew, Jessica and Jason Stanier, and their 4 young children when they were visiting from their home in South Africa where they are missionaries. "Aunt Ottilie" loved having lunches with the children and was impressed by their good manners, something that was also very important to her. Ottilie and the children loved the unlimited ice cream at Country Meadows.

One story that Ottilie loved telling and retelling is when three-year-old Khethiwe, and the other children met Ottilie for the first time. The two older boys politely greeted Ottilie with a handshake then little Khethiwe, who is adopted, boldly walked over to Ottilie, extended her little hand, and said, "Welcome to the family Aunt Ottilie." We always laughed every time Ottilie told this story.

Also, while at Country Meadows, Ottilie developed a deep, loving relationship with Lynna and Ed Ross who have become devoted friends with Ottilie since she moved to York.

After almost 4 years at Country Meadows, Ottilie needed more physical care and moved to the Dallastown Nursing Center in 2020 where she lived for 4 years until her death. Ottilie remained comfortable and fairly healthy, resilient, and dedicated to her convictions, even during the difficult Covid pandemic. It was only in the last two years at the DNC that Ottilie's health declined dramatically. While her friends and family and the staff at the DNC will miss Ottilie, we have to be grateful that she lived a long and mostly healthy life of 103 years. However, we will also always remember that Ottilie was adamant that "a woman should never disclose her age, and one should NEVER ask!"

The family will celebrate Ottilie's life at a private service. Kuhner Associates Funeral Directors, Inc., 863 South George Street, York, is in charge of arrangements.