Otto Karl Sauerbrey

Otto Karl Sauerbrey

Thomasville, GA – Otto Karl Sauerbrey, a beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away on October 22, 2025, at the age of eighty-eight. Born on October 25, 1936, in Kiel, Germany, Otto was the son of the late Erich Oskar Sauerbrey and Angelika Manke Sauerbrey. He married his devoted wife, Nancy Sue Page Sauerbrey, on September 17, 1960. They shared more than sixty-one years of marriage filled with love and adventure.

Mr. Sauerbrey was raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and attended Greenville High School, where he played baseball and football. He graduated from Auburn University in 1960, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. After college, he served in the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged in 1963.

Over the years, he resided in Georgia (mainly in Manchester and Eastman), Evansville, Indiana, and Florida (New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange). After working as a plant manager for Playtex and Goody and serving as vice president at Berry Plastics, Otto started a second career in real estate with his wife, Nancy, in coastal Florida. They found great success and kept working into their late seventies. Otto and Nancy were members of Covenant United Methodist Church in Port Orange, Florida, where they faithfully worshiped for over twenty years.

“Pop,” as his family affectionately called him, was full of life and had a wry sense of humor. He enjoyed playing golf, was a skilled bridge player, liked to travel, and loved home cooking. His favorite pastime outside of cheering for the Auburn Tigers was cruising to various countries with his wife, Nancy. He especially looked forward to the annual Sauerbrey Christmas cruise in the Caribbean with his three children and seven grandchildren.

Otto was preceded in death by his parents, Erich Oskar Sauerbrey and Angelika Manke Sauerbrey of Greenville, SC, his wife Nancy, and his older brother, Erich Louis Sauerbrey of Decatur, GA.

His survivors include his children Kim Bragg (Chip) of Thomasville, GA; Erich Sauerbrey of Chicago, IL; and Karla Torrey (Mike) of Sanford, FL; as well as his grandchildren Chris Bragg of Marietta, GA; Taylor Bragg (Dottie) of Thomasville, GA; Thomas Bragg of Marietta, GA; Brey Torrey (Kevin) of Bluffton, SC; Ty Sauerbrey of Bellingham, WA; and Beth Anthony (Justin) and Reagan Sauerbrey of Charlotte, NC. A private memorial service with family will be held at a later date. His ashes will be interred next to his wife, Nancy, in the memorial garden at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Thomasville, Georgia.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or the Wounded Warrior Project.