Otis Mather of Waterloo
Added to Missing List
Pvt. Otis Mather, Waterloo, has been missing in action in Luxembourg since Jan. 19 according to a war telegram received Tuesday by his wife, who with their son, William, resides at 609 Rhey street.
He left for overseas duty in November and had since seen action in Belgium and Holland with General Patton’s Third army.
The son of Mr. and Mrs. B. C. Mather, Ottumwa, Ia., and a former employe (sic) of the Rath Packing Co., he entered service in May, 1944, and trained at Camp Wolters, Tex.
His brother, Pfc. Curtis Mather, was included in the list of Waterloo men serving with the 106th division who were missing but later he rejoined his outfit. Another brother, Pvt. Estel Mather, is sill in the United States.
Their sister, Mrs. Opal Kitterman, resides at 1001 Sycamore street.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, February 06, 1945, Page 1 (photo included)
Otis Mather Dead;
Had Been Missing
Pvt. Otis Mather, 25, Waterloo infantryman who was previously listed as missing in action in Luxembourg since January 19, was killed in action on that date, according to a war department telegram received Friday by his wife, the former Evelyn Miller, 228 Fowler street. He was serving with Gen. George Patton’s Third army.
Private Mather, a son of Mr. and Mrs. B. C. Mather of Ottumwa, Ia., left for overseas duty last November and saw action in Belgium and Holland. He entered service May 29, 1944, training at Camp Wolters, Tex., before which he was employed at Rath Packing Co.
He was born Apr. 1, 1919, in Glenwood, Mo. He attended Ottumwa high school, coming to Waterloo in 1933. On Nov. 20, 1938, he married Evelyn Miller in Waterloo. Private Mather attended the Church of the Nazarene at Ottumwa.
A brother, Pfc. Curtis Mather, was included in the list of Waterloo men serving with the 106th division, who were reported missing, but he later rejoined the outfit.
Surviving are the wife; a 5-year-old son, Billy; the parents; two brothers, Pfc. Curtis Mather, stationed in Germany, and Pvt. Estel Mather, stationed in New Hampshire; five sisters, Mrs. Opal Kitterman of 1001 Sycamore street; Mrs. Violet Morriss of Hanover, Ill.; Mrs. Myrna Carlyle and Miss Inez Mather, both of Ottumwa; and Mrs. Nola Scurlock of Lancaster, Mo. A brother and a sister preceded him in death.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Friday, March 23, 1945, Page 1
Mather Memorial Services Sunday
Memorial services for Pvt. Otis Mather, who was killed in action Jan. 19 in Luxembourg, will be at 2:30 p. m. Sunday at the Free Methodist church, with Rev. John Watterson, pastor, in charge. Private Mather’s wife and son, William, reside at 228 Fowler street.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Thursday, April 05, 1945, Page 6
Otis Mather was born Apr. 1, 1919 to Byron C. and Belle Spurgeon Mather. He died Jan. 19, 1945 and is buried in Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, Hamm, Luxembourg.
Source: ancestry.com
