Otto was born June 7, 1949 and left us July 15, 2020. During his entire 71 years he truly lived life to the fullest with passion and energy. Otto was a hardworking self made man, an extremely intelligent individual thinker, and great communicator and story teller. Here are several short capsules of memories about my husband Otto, the man I knew and loved for 40 years…his life, his loves and his legacy.

Otto is also survived by Stefanie, his loving daughter by his first wife Gemma, son-in-law Drew and granddaughter, Makenzie.

Dear family, friends and colleagues - Otto had an impact on many people throughout his life and careers in both Accounting and Real Estate. I hope that you will take time to remember Otto through the vignettes that follow and share your own personal memories of Otto under the "Stories" tab.

As long as someone is remembered they’re never gone!

Otto was born in Chicago to Otto James Sr and Nina Lou Kubik.  He grew up in the suburbs of  Berwyn, Stickney and Cicero. Otto's love of music began at an early age growing up living in an apartment over his parent's several jazz clubs.  He'd enjoy sitting at his very own front row table listening to some of the best Chicago Dixieland Jazz bands.  When it was his bedtime, he still got to listen because his bedroom was right over the stage.  

His taste in music evolved. He was thrilled to be a teenager and young adult in the 60's and 70's and enjoy that era's great rock and roll.  He'd turn the volume way up for Jimi Hendrix and get lost listening to the Doors with Jim Morrison's poetic lyrics.  

Otto's love of jazz was a major part of his life. By far his favorite was the Pat Metheny Group. We never missed a concert if they were in town. We enjoyed many jazz concerts over the years. One of our favorite venues was outdoors in the vineyards of the Temecula wine country. As we got older, we appreciated the more intimate setting at Mario's Place in Riverside.  We always tried to be there for dinner and to listen to the Jazz Junkie's play.

Otto's heart melted the moment he looked into his adorable baby daughter's face and eyes!  He was hooked.  

While he enjoyed watching her grow up, his greatest pleasure came from knowing her as an adult whom he loved, admired and respected.  Not only do they share the same distinguishing physical features but also the same strong personalities and character.

Once Otto became a Realtor, he and Stefanie were able to work together as a team-Otto selling homes and Stefanie handling the financing. This brought them even closer. He came to trust and rely on her expertise very much.  

Otto always valued the importance of getting a good education. He would proudly proclaim how after 13 years of night school, while working full time supporting his family, he received his Bachelor's Degree.  He started his education at DePaul University in Chicago and finished at the University of Redlands in 1981.  He graduated with Distinction with a Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Management.

But Otto never stopped learning.  He always had a hunger to continually better himself and expand his knowledge.  He stayed on top of all the latest in technology and world events.  Otto could discuss facts on so many subjects ranging from history, science etc.  I was always amazed at the breadth of his knowledge.

Otto and I enjoyed a small outdoor wedding ceremony at Avalon on Catalina Island.  Our wedding almost didn't happen though!  Our best man, Ted was also our pilot.  He was to chariot Otto, my mother and me over to the Island in his 4 seater plane the morning of our wedding. It was very overcast and Ted was only instrument trained at the time. So we had to wait and wait and wait for the clouds to clear. Finally there was a small clearing and Ted circled his way into the sky above the clouds. Then when we got to the island the air traffic controller told us to "land at our own risk". Needless to say my hand was white from being squeezed by my mother.  Nothing was going to stop this wedding. We made it just in time for our appointment. Otto was always the most adoring, giving, loyal husband I could ever have dreamed of... a dream come true.  

Otto readily admitted how much his work as a career professional in Accounting Management and then Real Estate was an important part of his identity.  He never planned to retire.  Otto's keen mind thrived on helping companies identify their problems and then find creative solutions to overcome them. As he advanced in his profession, he credited the many mentors he had along the way for his successes.  Consequently it was important for Otto to pay it forward by helping those who worked with him to become better.  He loved to be a mentor-even though that meant being tough on people at times.

Otto didn't have a lot of tolerance for mediocrity, both in his own work as well as others.  He would always speak up if he was dissatisfied with a service, product or performance.  His intent was not to complain but to improve.  A common expression of his was "you can't fix something if you don't know it's broken".

A very special day in Otto's life was the day he got to walk his daughter, Stefanie down the aisle. When his son-in-law, Drew got the nerve up to finally ask Otto for Stefanie's "hand in marriage", in typical Otto fashion he said, "Don't you want the rest of her?!".  Hopefully that broke the ice and eased the tension of the moment.  

The wedding was a wonderful and joyful day to share with family and friends; laughing, drinking, dancing, drinking, eating, drinking... 

Being there with his daughter and son-in-law for the birth of his beautiful granddaughter, Makenzie was one of the most moving experiences of Otto's life.  This was accentuated by Otto having the honor of cutting the umbilical cord.  

For her birthdays, we'd plan excursions and activities that hopefully would be memorable as well as educational.  Initially, when she was old enough we took her for her first horseback ride. As she grew older it included trips to places like museums, gardens and observatories.  He always wanted to help her expand her horizons, her views of the world, her education and mental development, challenging her to question things. Otto was proud to see her graduate from high school and go on to higher education.

What was most important to Otto was to see her mature into a strong, intelligent, caring and beautiful human being.  In recent years, he thoroughly enjoyed the lengthy, sometimes heated and emotional discussions they'd share on a variety of issues.

Otto was a great animal lover.  Particularly our dogs.  All our dogs were from the animal shelter or rescues that found us one way or another.  Our dogs were members of the family, frequently going on road trips with us.  Muffin and Fritz took the trek up to Monterey with us many times. They came to know that beach along the bay very well.  We'd joke about Fritz enjoying cracked crab on the Santa Barbara wharf. 

Otto enjoyed hiking with the dogs in the foothills behind our home or sitting in front of the fireplace together on a cold winter night. Pedro, Fritz, Muffin, Trixi, Sadie and Bill were all loving and loved members of the family.

Probably stemming from Otto's family roots in the nightclub business, Otto always loved having a party and entertaining friends. Our most memorable party was the100th birthday party that Otto, Stefanie and I threw for Otto's Dad (in absentia). Otto Sr. was a young man in the 1920's and was very much a part of the Roaring 20's lifestyle. So that was the theme of the party, including a secret doorway to the speakeasy and casino. All the party goers had made up names and identities and everyone really got into the spirit of it.

Besides being an amazing cook, himself, Otto took great pleasure in a fine dining experience. Often he'd remark how just the thought of certain great dishes he'd had would make the hair stand up on his arms!  Here we are touring the kitchen at Spago's in Beverly Hills, a particular favorite.  We were thrilled to have Wolfgang Puck spend time at our table with us during our first visit.  The pinnacle experience was dining in Lyon at Paul Bocuse where we got to meet both Mr. and Mrs. Bocuse. 

Mario's Place in Riverside became our favorite local go to restaurant for fine dining. We called it our family restaurant because the Palagi's became like family. We shared many family events together over the years. Both happy and sad occasions.

Otto remained a loyal Chicago Bears fan even after moving to Southern California in 1978. He would tell stories of enduring brutally cold games at Soldier Field when he was young.  One of the high points in his life was to watch the 1985 Bears play and go all the way to win the Super Bowl!!  I still have the VHS tapes for each of that seasons games.  

Our last visit to Chicago included one last visit to Soldier Field to watch the Bears beat the Panthers on October 28, 2012.  Otto was thrilled to be there once again. He said that weekend was one of the best of his life.

Otto loved many sports besides football including basketball, Nascar and hockey. But by far, football and his Bears were first in his heart.

Part of the rich life that I shared with Otto included many amazing trips around the country and around the world.  There weren't many places that he wanted to see but didn't have the chance, except for his father's ancestral roots in Prague and the Czech Republic. Otto's career as a VP of Finance and Corporate Controller meant several business trips to such international destinations as  Augsburg, London, Paris,  and Lyon. I'd tag along and we'd turn these trips into memorable adventures.

Cruising became one of our favorite past times. Starting with Alaska and ending with our last cruise to Hawaii. And in between we got to see the Caribbean and Baltic countries.