Otto Worley Chitwood

     A kind and quiet man with irrepressible optimism, sky-blue eyes and a melodic whistle, Otto Worley Chitwood died Sunday after a brief illness. He was 98 years old.   

     A funeral service will be held 11:00 am EDT (10:00 am CDT) Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Seale United Methodist Church with Rev. Brady Baird and Rev. Lance Eiland officiating. Interment will follow at the Seal United Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, Friday evening at Vance Brooks Funeral Home in Phenix City, AL.

     He had been living at Columbus’ Savannah Grand, but his home was in Seale AL.  He was among the community leaders who first worked to preserve the Old Russell County Courthouse in Seale, where the once-derelict building now stands restored on a hill overlooking the unincorporated town.

     A longtime budget officer at Fort Benning, now Fort Moore, he was trusted for his integrity and expertise to handle funds as treasurer for the church and the courthouse association.

    Born July 20, 1925, to Oliver Claude and Edna Delilah Davenport Chitwood, he grew up poor around the coal mines of north Alabama before moving to Seale, where he met and married the love of his life, Majorie Bush Chitwood, and raised three children.

     He proudly served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and held various jobs as he got his business school training in finance before becoming a 35-year civil servant for the Department of the Army.  

     His belief in volunteerism and community was evident by his service for the Seale Courthouse Association, the Seale United Methodist Church, the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees, the Saint Luke United Methodist Church’s Respite and First Saturday Ministries, the Seale Volunteer Fire Department, and other organizations too numerous to name here.

     He is preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Marjorie, his parents, a brother James Chitwood and two sisters, Katherine Chitwood Howard, and Francis Chitwood Turner.   He is survived by daughter Anne Watford and husband Rodney of Orlando, Florida, two sons, Bobby and Tim Chitwood and his wife Virginia Causey all of Columbus, Georgia, along with five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.  

     His love of family and friends, his appreciation of old-time gospel and classic country music, and above all his irrepressible sense of humor live on in his children and grandchildren.

     Donations in his memory may be made to the Seale United Methodist Church at P.O. Box 128 Seale AL 36875, the Saint Luke Respite Ministry at P.O. Box 867, Columbus GA 31902, or to another local charity.