Leaving a Legacy : Otto Hirsch
Otto Hirsch was born on November 12 , 1920 in Jersey City , New
Jersey . He grew up there with two brothers and a sister . He served in the US Army during World War II as a medic and conscientious objector and received the “ Good Conduct Medal ” and “ Victory Medal ”. He later attended Union College in New Jersey and earned a teaching degree .
In 1942 , he married Virginia Leister and the couple raised their three children in Madison , Tennessee . Otto began teaching in 1950 and taught elementary school in the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference for 36 years .
Otto had a heart for children and wanted to be involved in children ’ s ministry even after he retired in 1986 . His desire to stay involved lead him to volunteer his time and talents at Indian Creek Camp ( ICC ) every summer . He was an expert carpenter and craftsman and together with his maintenance skills and love for teaching nature , he tirelessly gave back to the youth and the camp that he so loved .
At the age of 93 , he decided to retire officially his duties at ICC , but continued his skills for missionary purposes . He designed small cedar crosses with Bible verse on the base , wooden cross puzzles and other
Christian mementos .
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Starting in 2006 , he made an estimated 7,000 puzzles and more than 30,000 cedar crosses that have been distributed
worldwide through church missions and outreach .
I first met Otto in 1989 when I immigrated to the US and he introduced himself to me , I was thrilled to have someone to speak German to , which he had learned from his father . He was a kind and caring man and whenever I ’ d run into him , we would share a few German words together .
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