Family tells of N.B. legacy cut too short
The Otkens, in town since the 1890s, recallmemories of Edwin A. Otken, 37
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

Edwin A. Otken worked on his family's farm on Route 130 in North Brunswick as a teenager, setting up a corn stand at age 14, top left, and driving the tractors. InMay, he married Kirsten Abrahamsen, who gave birth to their daughter, Megan, in November. Otken passed away in December from a pulmonary embolism after a hunting accident.

NORTH BRUNSWICK - Edwin A. Otken, 37, is described as a quiet and shy boy who loved to fish and farm, who turned into a decent, kind, loving young man who cared about his family and friends.He went from working on the 105-acre Otken farm on Route 130 in North Brunswick to owning the Church Lane plaza complex across the highway, keeping his family's longwithstanding roots in the township. He spent his spare time hunting and trap shooting as a member of the Mallard Trap Shooting Club inMonroe, the 2006New Jersey State Trap Shooting Teamand theNational Rifle Association.

Late last year, Edwin had gone to his house in the mountains of Pennsylvania to hunt and his deer stand broke, causing him to fall 12 feet to the ground. He dislocated his ankle, needing surgery to pull the bones back together. Then, on Dec. 19, he told his wife he was unable to breathe. He suffered a heart attack in his chair as an ambulance was called, and he passed away later that day from a pulmonary thrombosis embolism, caused froma blood clot to his lungs as a result of his ankle injury.

"It was just shocking. Everything happened in 15 minutes. He was sitting here totally fine and then all of a sudden, he was out of breath," his wife, Kirsten, said.

As a child

Edwin A. Otken was a lifelong resident of North Brunswick. He would go fishing and hunting with his grandfather, and loved to be outdoors. During his early teenage years, he began working on his family's farm, driving the tractors, plowing and seeding.

"He was always a big kid, always a really good kid. He didn't get into trouble. He was very nice, very pleasant," said his father, EdwinW. Otken. "He liked to operate machinery."

Although Ed's brother, Jeffrey, who is three years younger, said that theywere opposites, with Ed liking to hunt and Jeff liking cars, he remembers, "When we were kids, we were throwing snowballs at cars. I was wearing his shoes, he wore a size 16. I was probably 10 and he was 13, and he looked like a full-sized man then. We hit a car and I couldn't hardly run because I had his shoes on and I fell down," Jeff recalled, laughing at how the man in the car yelled at him and his cousin at which point Ed, who looked like an adult, came out of the woods.

"It was fun," Jeff said. "We had a lot of room to do what we wanted to do. A lot of fires in the woods."

As a man

Edwin A. Otken was the property manager of Old Georges Road LLC, a real estate firm that owned the Church Lane Plaza on Route 130, for the past four years. He also leased property in North Brunswick, Monroe and Cranbury and cared for the Pulda Farmproperty on Route 130 north in town, according to Kirsten.

Prior to that, he had worked on his family's farm since he was a teen and operated Ed's Farm Market from his early 20s, selling Christmas trees, grave blankets and wreaths during the winter and certain vegetables at the end of the season. He studied agriculture at a two-year college but got discouraged by a few years of little rain, his father said.

"Iwas glad hewanted to do it. Iwas hoping we would stay there and do that," EdwinW. said.

EdwinA. also took a run at town council in the 1990s, although he lost the election.

"He was very interested in politics. He was a smart kid and he was on the ball," EdwinW. said.

Edwin A. then got married on May 5 of last year to Kirsten Abrahamsen, who prematurely gave birth to their daughter, Megan, inNovember. The twomet online in 2005 and "got along right away." She calls him her "gentle giant" because he stood 6 feet 6 inches tall.

"He was the most loving, kind, caring person.He always looked out for his friends and his family. He was very humble, very hardworking. He was patient. He never argued, he would listen to what other people had to say and formhis opinion.He was allaround a very good, kind, decent person," she said.

Kirsten said Ed "took care of everybody," including giving insulin to and doing the bills for his grandmother,who suffered from diabetes, and acting as a caregiver for his mother, Jean Rupprecht Otken, who passed away from cancer in 2006.

"He was a very dedicated friend and son and brother. He always took care of everyone, an all-around wonderful person," Kirsten said. "I love himandmiss himmore than words can say, and I plan to honor his memory every day of my life."

As an Otken

Edwin A. Otken comes from a long line of North Brunswick residents. His greatgreat grandparents came to the United States from Germany in the late 1800s, although it is not clear if they came directly to North Brunswick and if so, why they chose this area. Edwin J. Otken, who was the late Ed's grandfather, was one of the vice presidents of GoodHumor.According to Kirsten, Edwin A.'s grandmother was a member of the Board of Education and his maternal grandparents started the first office and first school in town, with his great-grandfather being a principal and his great-grandmother being a teacher.

The family operated their farm until around 2004, growing soybeans, sweet corn, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, string beans, pumpkins, mums and tomatoes, according to Kirsten. EdwinW. said his father paid for college by shelling lima beans at night and selling the jars.

Edwin W. also had a mechanic shop on site, which he worked at with Jeff while his son, Ed, attended to the more physical aspects of farming.

The farm was condemned by the Township of North Brunswick in 2000 and was converted to theNorth Brunswick Community Park last year. Although Ed's father and brothermoved toMonroe, he continued to live in his hometown.

"I feel very proud. I think my husband just lived a wonderful life of integrity. I feel happy I'm part of that now and our daughter will grow up with that," Kirsten said.