Pauline Otto dies aged 76 in South Burnett

Tributes have flowed for Pauline Otto, mother of South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto, who is remembered for her love of community, family and success.

Tributes flow for Pauline Otto, mother of South Burnett Mayor Brett Otto, who is remembered for her love of community, family and success.

Tributes have flowed for the mother of the most recognisable man in the South Burnett, following her death on July 11, 2023.

Friends and family are remembering Pauling Otto – the mother of South Burnett Regional Council Mayor Brett Otto – for her love of family and community.

The mother of four was born on June 9, 1947 at Goomeri Hospital, a daughter to Elizabeth Grace Hay and Walter Gordon Hay.

Brett Otto said she passed peacefully into God’s precious care at the Murgon Hospital surrounded by her family.

Mrs Otto spent the majority of her life in Murgon where she married Trevor ‘Jack’ Otto in 1963 and raised their children Murray, Brett, Craig and Shelley.

A recent photograph of Pauline and Trevor Otto.

Her son Murray said his parents recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

“It was very clear that they wanted to celebrate this milestone together with their family,” Mr Otto said.

“This was an incredible love story and still is, with Pauline continuing to have her wedding ring on her finger until this very day.”

Mrs Otto had a strong belief in treating all people with courtesy and respect.

“She regularly demonstrated this value in the way she interacted with all people throughout her life,” Mr Otto said.

“Over a fifty-year period she worked at Penney’s Grocery Store, local farms, Murgon Hospital, The Peanut Marketing Board, Murgon Pharmacy, Murgon Bakery, the local nursery, a clothes drapery business, a local real estate office and she owned the Cosy Cafe Murgon for five years.”

Mrs Otto was the driving force behind her children’s academic success, who became the first generation of their family to achieve university degrees.

The Otto family at Pauline's funeral.

Murray received an MBA at CQU, Brett is currently Mayor of the South Burnett Regional Council, Craig was in the top four in Queensland for Chartered Accountants and Shelley Weier (nee Otto) received a Bachelor of Education at University of Southern Queensland.

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Mr Otto said his mother, who came from humble beginnings, has left a remarkable legacy.

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“She made for a better life for generations to come,” he said.

Originally published as Pauline Otto dies aged 76 in South Burnett