If you feel so moved, do please consider signing the guest book online for the Funeral Home site. I posted the link earlier in the thread. While he passed away in May of this year, I would think well wishes from a professional group like ours might be a welcome addition to their cherished memories, given our overwhlming respect for the guy.
I also exchanged a few emails with Otis. I was just thinking about him Thursday night and resolved to contact him to find out where he had been. I go to Tucson on business once or twice a year from Orange County and go right by his winter place in AZ and had planned to stop in Sept when I hoped to go again.
I am amazed that so many people were suddenly wondering about Otis, just as I did, out of the blue on Thursday night. Don’t you have to feel that this sudden “coming to mind” of Otis for all of us was as a result of the kind of person he was? He was always so curious, never satisfied with the status quo and often willing to try different approaches. I believe he stimulated a lot of us to think about different aspects of our pizza and even our business concepts. Quartzite, Arizona? He made that a go? For those of you who have never seen this little town it is a very tiny spec in the middle of the desert. If you blink going by on the freeway you miss it. Not many people would even attempt to have a pizza business there. Remember the pictures he posted of it?
After reading his obituary I began to think about his life. Look at all the things he experienced. Sometimes we get so immersed in our businesses and the routine of day to day living that we fail to push out to experience new things. We get so comfortable sometimes that we forget that maybe living a full life means stretching ourselves a bit by doing different things. If not now then when? Don’t mean to be presumptuous here because maybe many of you already stretch out. I don’t because I am to comfortable but maybe I am going to think about Otis a little more in the coming weeks and think about making some changes.
I was just going through old PMs to clean out my mailbox. Could not bring myself to delete Otis’s last PM to me. Sweet guy.
take care, make good pizza, stay in touch,
Otis
WOW! I am WAY late to this, Otis and I exchanged many email. Bounced ideas off eachother etc. He was an amazing helper, very selfless.
I just looked and my last email from him. I was selling him a chopper, I got lazy and by the time I found it, he said he was closed for the season, and it would be silly to buy anything now. He then emailed 4 mins later, saying “You got me thinkin about that chopper”
Haha classic, his mind was always running… he will be missed.
Suggestion/request
Who would like to see Otis Gunn’s name up with the moderators?
I think it’s FANTASTIC idea. He can be our honorary moderator and always be secretly putting in his .02 cents
Anyone agree with me? 
Great idea! He should be a moderator.
Thought it would be nice to remind people about Otis today. Life is short. Hug those you love, follow your dreams, and do what makes you happy!!!
-Scott
Today is my dad’s b-day, my long time friend’s anniversary and the day we lost Otis…Thanks for the reminder Scott…
Thank you for this reminder, Scott. Hard to believe it’s been five years since we lost Otis.
–Liz
Still talk about him now to hubby…odd
What an inspiration he was. It was nice to see the pic as I scrolled down.
I still fantasize about trying his dream one day…but then again he made it look easy.
Kris
He came to my shop under construction, driving his camper and sharing his ride with his cat. A fine man, and unassuming in his wisdom. Glad to have made his acquaintance before his passing.