Otillie Milliken

Otillie Milliken, beloved wife and mother of four, passed away peacefully on September 15, 2022, in Wheaton, Illinois. She was 95 years old.

Otillie was born in Tours, Texas to Frank and Rosa Berger. She attended the University of Texas in Austin, where she excelled in chemistry so much that she was assigned to tutor her fellow students, including Spencer Milliken. He became the love of her life, and they married in 1945. Together they pursued their educations and Otillie completed her undergraduate degree in physics with honors at Penn State University.

The family lived in several cities over the course of Spencer’s career. In addition to managing family life, Otillie taught part-time at the community college and later became an administrator working for the State of New Jersey. She had many interests including early American history, gardening, quilting and studied classical piano. She was an expert at solving the NY Times crosswords and Sudoku puzzles – she could never find any that were difficult enough.

They returned to Texas upon retirement, building a beautiful home in Nacogdoches. While there, Otillie developed a keen interest in genealogy and her persistent search for the documented facts led to establishing many connections with other genealogists. After Spencer passed away in 2002, Otillie relocated to Wheaton, Illinois, where she spent her remaining years surrounded by family. She continued her love of gardening as she tended the amaryllis plants and orchids on her windowsill.

She is survived by her daughter Glennis Waterman, three sons, Stuart (Peggy) Milliken, Gordon (Mary) Milliken, and Barrett (Rachel) Milliken. There are eight grandchildren, Maxfield Waterman, Kathryn (Stephen) LeTrent, Mei Robyn (Joseph) Byron, Katy Muller, Evan (Lori) Milliken, Collin (Kelli) Milliken, Julia Milliken, and Emmett Milliken. Let’s not forget the seven great grandchildren, Eva, Jude, Nicole, Ella, Henry, Julie and Lilibeth.

The memorial will be private. In lieu of flowers, you can make a donation in Otillie’s honor by clicking the Morton Arboretum Tribute Program link: Tribute gifts (Donation for Honoree) and  then select  Donation for Honoree option.