Rita Lynn Otley

Rita Lynn Otley, 65 of Diamond, Oregon died at her home October 28, 2025.
Rita was born on Valentines Day in 1960 to Buck and Betty Davis of Burns. Her brother Don followed on February 6, 1962. Rita was a protective big sister, she was the only one in her mind allowed to pick on Don. She even threw an older kid over the school fence in grade school for picking on him.
Buck, Betty, Rita and Don lived on Red Barn Ln until she was 10. Buck got a job in Diamond working for Leon Thompson, so they all moved out to Diamond. She always remembered thinking how pretty it was when they saw it the first time. They made lifelong friendships there. Buck worked for Leon for 3 and a half years, then went to Otley Brothers. Rita and Sherry drove powerbucks in the summer and had so much fun. Rita finished her grade school years at Diamond, then went to Crane High School. She lived in the dorm there. She had lots of fun in school and always had lots of stories. She was in volleyball, track, was the senior prom queen and valedictorian of the class of 78.
In 1977, she began dating the love of her life Bill Otley. They were married December 15, 1979. Their daughter Kristie was born March 27, 1981.
Rita loved working in her yard with her dogs. She had a green thumb. She loved her animals and her people. She loved raising her bummer calves and saved so many of them. If you were in Ritas world, you were lucky. She took care of everyone. She must have made thousands of cookies, "Rita Cookies" were what one friend said, legends were made of. She loved decorating for Christmas, and everyone loved seeing all the lights in the valley. She always had ice cream bars in the summer and cookies year round for whoever came to get a treat. One day she even had all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies in her mailbox, as a hint from Hayden and Toby that it had been a long time since she had made them their own batch. So she took that hint and made a batch just for them. She became Grandma Rita or Tita to the O'Crowley boys, the Stoddart girls and the Steen kids. She loved them and their parents. She always had such fun getting the kids presents, and each time always had to have one in there that would drive the parents nuts somehow or would have the window clings so they could fingerprint their parents windows. She was that way, if she liked you she picked on you. She never let Todd Titus live down the time he put the paper from the cheese in his sandwich, Don's pickup was rarely safe from her and Kristie making it so when he started it the windshield wipers came on full speed and the radio was all the way up. She made letters from the 'building inspector' to Tony when he was building Rich and Renae's house. She would always pick on Fred just because. She said he always gave her such ammunition. She always said if she didn't like you she didnt waste her time and talent picking on you.
She was always mischievous. She always laughed at one time she was little and got in trouble for something, her mom was trying to spank her with a wooden spoon, but the spoon got tangled up in her robe so she couldn't spank her. She laughed until her mom laughed, she never did get that spanking. Another time, her and Don got in a fight before school, he threw a shoe at her and she ducked just right for it to hit the wall and make a hole in the wall. Betty knew something was up when she went in the living room and they were standing side by side, that was how they blocked the hole.
RIta is so missed by so many people. Diamond Valley will never be the same.
Rita was preceded in death by her dad Buck in 2005, and her mom Betty in 2019. She is survived by her husband Bill, daughter Kristie and son in law Jeff, brother Don, crazy dog KC, uncle Red Dunbar, cousins Andy, Cathy, Linda, Tom, Scott, Rhonda, Laura and so many of her friends who were her family.
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