+ Pr. Otto Hintze

Received this from the LCMS Missouri District Office, regarding the recent death of one of precedessors as Chaplain of the International Center. We were blessed to hear Pr. Hintze in chapel some months ago when his book on the mission work in Papua New Guinea was published.

Dear Friends in Christ,  

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Let us remember with thanksgiving what God has done through His servant Otto.  

Otto Charles Hintze, Jr. was given life by his Creator and was born on March 22, 1923, in El Paso, Texas, to the parents of Otto Carl Hintze, Sr. and Pearl Evelyn (Greene) Hintze. On April 8, 1923, he received the gift of Holy Baptism and became a child of God at Zion Lutheran Church, El Paso, Texas. On March 21, 1937 at Zion Lutheran Church, El Paso, Texas, he publicly confessed his faith, was confirmed, and received the precious gift of the Lord’s life-giving body and blood. 

Otto earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. During his four years at Austin High School, El Paso, Texas, he achieved the rank of major in the ROTC. He attended Texas College of Mines and Metallurgy, El Paso, Texas for one-and-a-half years. In 1941 he decided to study for the pastoral ministry at St. John’s College, Winfield, Kansas. He entered Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1943. His vicarage included teaching at St. John’s Academy, Winfield, Kansas, where he met his future wife, Jill, and field work among Hispanics in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. On June 27, 1948, he received the gift of a beloved companion in his spouse, Vera Jeannelle Ruth (Karcher) Hintze at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Vernon, Texas. God blessed them with six children: Kathryn, David, Margaret, Charles, Nathan and Kenneth. 

Upon earning his Master of Sacred Theology degree from the seminary in 1948, Otto received a divine call to serve as a missionary in Papua New Guinea. In 1966 he accepted a divine call to serve as the missions professor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, Illinois. In 1976 he accepted the divine call to serve as the LCMS World Area Secretary, St. Louis, Missouri, and in 1978 that position changed to become the Area Secretary for Latin America. In 1988 he became the Minister of Inreach/Outreach at Ascension Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri. In 1999 he became the chaplain for the LCMS International Center, St. Louis, Missouri, until his retirement in 2007. In 2015 Otto completed his book, “From Ghosts to God in Enga Land – Planting His Church Among the Enga People of Central Papua New Guinea.”  

Finally, on March 20, 2016, God blessed Otto with a holy death and took him home to rest in the arms of his Savior Jesus to await the resurrection of the dead. 

Visitation will be at Kutis Affton Chapel (10151 Gravois Road, Affton), on Tuesday, March 22, 4 -8 p.m. then taken to Ascension Lutheran Church (5347 Donovan Avenue, St. Louis) on Wednesday, March 23 for visitation 9:30 a.m.until service at 10:30 a.m. Interment at Sunset Cemetery. 

Pastors wll not need to vest, 

Otto is preceded in death by his parents; two siblings: John and William; and one son, Nathan. 

Otto is survived by his children: Kathryn and (Peter) Prange, David and (Charlotte) Hintze, Margaret and (Edmund) Frank, Charles and (Helga) Hintze, Kenneth and (Jodie) Hintze. 

Otto was also blessed with the gift of nineteen grandchildren: Timothy and (Alana) Prange, Joel and (Fiona) Prange, Deanna and (Josh) Einem, Rachel and (Tom) Mannor, Deborah and (Jason) Ellenden, James Prange, Nathanael and (Jennifer) Prange, Stephen Prange, Angela and (Terrence) Tyack; Gretchen and (Paul) Dolan, Bret Hintze, Heidi and (Mark) Wildauer, Kevin Hintze; Daniel and (Carrie) Frank, Keith and (Jane) Frank, Philip and (Maureen) Frank, Amanda and (Joshua) Jackson; Elizabeth and Emma Hintze. 

The gift of twenty great-grandchildren fulfilled Otto’s life even more: Annabelle Prange; Jacob, Madison and Olivia Ellenden; Dakota Prange; Marcus Prange; Noelle, Paige and Sawyer Dolan; Benjamin Hintze; Noah, Jack, Abby, Josie, and Wyatt Wildauer; Connor and Joshua Frank; Avery and Brandon Frank; Jared Jackson. 

In addition, God blessed Otto’s life with many other relatives and an abundance of special friends and acquaintances. 

The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. We give thanks to God our Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord, for our father and brother in Christ, Otto Hintze.