Otto Friedrich Grote

Otto Grote was born in Boston and raised on his family’s agricultural estate, Varchentin, located near Berlin, Germany. He was the elder son of Friedrich Franz Graf Grote and Rachel (nee Derby Smith) Grӓfin Grote. Otto’s father was killed in action during the Russian invasion of eastern Germany, forcing his mother to flee with Otto and his four siblings. Their epic journey brought them back to their mother’s homes in Boston, Massachusetts and Rangeley, Maine. Otto graduated from the Loomis School, Harvard University (’53) and Harvard Business School (’57). He fulfilled his ROTC commitment at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and Africa visiting family, skiing in Zurs, participating in shoots in England, participating in safaris and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya. He was an avid hiker and cyclist, and played polo and tennis. He began his career at Techbuilt and held positions at Weyerhaeuser and J. and W. Seligman & Co. before starting his own financial firm, Van Bergen, in NYC. He sold Van Bergen and founded Derby Securities where he worked for over 20 years. Retirement plans brought him back to New England settling in New Castle where he served on the Budget Committee. He also served as an Overseer at Strawbery Banke, a Trustee at the NHSPCA and a member of the Portsmouth Rotary. It is here that he met Jaci Levesque, who soon became his wife. Attracted to the open space and farms of Rye, Otto and Jaci settled on Washington Road raising chickens, gardening and caring for their dogs. He served with the Rye Lions and was the first Democrat to be elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from this district. He will be missed by his friends and family: his wife, Jaci, his sisters and brother and spouses Caroline Grote Snyder, Elisabeth and Michael Lay and Peter and Mary Grote: nine nieces and nephews and eleven great nieces and nephews. His youngest sister, Christine Grote Crisp, predeceases him. His memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday December 13th at the Rye Congregational Church, Rye, New Hampshire. To honor his passion for animals and gardening, Otto’s family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Cocheco Valley Humane Society, 262 County Farm Road, Dover, NH 03820 and the Rye Conservation Commission, Pollinator Garden Project, 10 Central Road Rye, NH 03870.

Otto Friedrich Grote

December 20, 1930 - November 28, 2014