Obituary of Priscilla Ann Gilbert Otto

​ Obituary: Priscilla Ann Gilbert Otto (8-28-1945 to 4-15-2015) Priscilla Ann Gilbert Otto died peacefully at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill on April 15, 2015 following prolonged illness. Priscilla was born in Newport, RI on August 28, 1945 to Patricia O'Brien Gilbert and Robert Linwood Gilbert, Jr. She is survived by her husband, David Otto, of Carrboro, NC; brother Robert Linwood Gilbert, III (and wife Laura) of Newport, RI; sister Eileen Gilbert (and husband Larry Butler) of Kemptsville, Ontario; and nieces Colleen Gilbert Donnelly (and husband Sean Donnelly) of Alexandria, VA and Christine Gilbert of Chappaqua, NY. Priscilla graduated from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, VA (1963) and Depaul Nursing School in Norfolk, VA (1966). She married David in 1966 and had two daughters--Meghan (b. 1971) and Eileen (b. 1978). Priscilla was passionate about nursing, politics and her two children. Her nursing career took her from the Emergency Room in Virginia Beach, orthopedics in the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, to pediatric hematology and oncology at the UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. She resigned from UNC Hospitals shortly before the birth of her second daughter, but devoted many years to home nursing of the girls who suffered from chronic illnesses. Priscilla's heroic efforts, with assistance from a marvelous team of volunteers from Project Compassion, kept the girls alive for years longer than expected. Priscilla was devastated by the death of both girls in 2005. Three members of the Project Compassion team-- Nora Howes, Carolyn Heuser and Mary Joy Keane—became her closest friends and helped her through this difficult period. Priscilla also worked as a Red Cross volunteer, traveling to southern California after disastrous fires and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. Her political activities were less dramatic, but very important for the exercise of democracy at the community, county and state levels: she served as a precinct judge for many years in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, registered many voters and canvassed for many candidates. Priscilla's final commitment was to the Guatemalan Student Support Group, a project which identifies bright Mayan students from impoverished communities and brings them to the U.S. to obtain a quality high-school education and sometimes more. Priscilla helped to organize a series of dinners and other events to raise funds for GSSG. She formed close bonds with several Guatemalan girls, relationships which she valued enormously and which helped fill the void created by the loss of her beloved daughters. Priscilla was a highly skilled nurse, a super-mom and a hard-working community volunteer. She was deeply loved and will be sorely missed. The funeral service will be held at 11am on Wednesday, April 22, at the Newman Catholic Student Center, 218 Pittsboro St. in Chapel Hill, followed by burial in the Old Carrboro Cemetery. A reception will be held at the Otto home, 1533 Pathway Drive in Carrboro, following the burial.