Otelia Kiteley, 82

Otelia was born in McMinnville on May 21, 1923. Her parents were Aaron Escal Curtis and Victoria (Vickie) Curtis. She is survived by her husband Charles Pennington Kiteley, daughters Telia Teresa Kiteley of Phoenix, Arizona and Cynthia Kiteley Lee of Siloam Springs, Ark., and sisters Edith Milstead Northcutt of Altamont and Sugar Lou Smith of McMinnville. She was preceded in death by one brother, Aaron Lowell Curtis.

Otelia earned a B.S. in physical education from Middle Tennessee State College in Murfreesboro in 1943. She married Hobart Massey, also of Warren County, on July 27, 1944. Massey died in combat in Germany on April 12, 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

In 1950 Otelia married Charles Pennington Kiteley of Detroit, Mich. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps at Iwo Jima during World War II and worked for the State Department.

Otelia was an accomplished artist, interior designer and art and antiques collector who loved beauty and created beauty. She especially appreciated paintings, sculpture, antiques, music, poetry and flowers. An active member in the Episcopal Church, the Girl Scouts and the Civil Rights movement, Otelia was known for her special tenderness for children and animals. She also assisted the National Institute of Health with research that developed improved treatments for glaucoma.