Franklin Otis Booth Jr.

FRANKLIN OTIS BOOTH, JR.
1923-2008
Franklin Otis Booth Jr., father, husband, businessman, philanthropist, avid outdoorsman and rancher, died peacefully at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84 years old. Otis was the great grandson of General Harrison Gray Otis, founder of The Los Angeles Times. He served on the Board of Trustees of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles, Harvard-Westlake School, Good Samaritan Hospital, and the Board of Directors of the Tejon Ranch Company and the Clipper Fund. Otis was born and raised in Pasadena, California. During the early years of World War II, he attended Polytechnic School, Flintridge Preparatory School, and the Webb School. At age 16 he entered the California Institute of Technology, graduating with the Class of 1944. He served in the U.S. Navy as a 1st Lieutenant during the war. After the war he attended Stanford Graduate School of Business before returning to Southern California to start a long career with the Times Mirror Company, retiring in 1972. After Times Mirror, Otis owned several small companies before launching his second career as a cattle rancher and citrus farmer. Over the decades, Booth Ranches has grown significantly and became his personal legacy and passion. Family owned and operated, his premium brand, Otis Orchards, is shipped throughout the world. Otis was an avid outdoorsman, pilot, and traveler. His interests took him to the far reaches of the globe including Africa, India, South America, and Antarctica. During the summers, as a young man, you could find him surfing on his Hobie at San Onofre or fly fishing Idaho's Snake River. He also enjoyed the fields of Uruguay and England, Rio Blanco Ranch with his fishing buddy, Charlie Munger, Idaho's Big Wood River, and British Colombia's Dean River. Otis is survived by his wife, Lynn, his sons Otis III and Scott, daughters Loren, Jenifer, Ashley, and Stephanie and fifteen grandchildren. At his 84th birthday celebration in Sun Valley, surrounded by his family, he said, "My life, as exemplified by all of you here tonight, has been wonderful beyond all my wildest dreams!" In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Project ALS. Project ALS, 900 Broadway, Suite 901, New York, NY 10003. 800-603-0270 Website: projectals.org