March 18, 1914 – March 28, 2004
What a life he lived! Otto Neufeld was born in Exeter, son of seven children of John Abraham and Mary Fast Neufeld, who were modest, hard-working and diligent farmers in California's agricultural heartland. It was neither an easy existence nor an easy time. Even as a small boy, Otto worked with his two brothers, Alonzo and Ernie, tending to the constant demands of making a living for the family from the land.
He was educated in Exeter's public schools and was accepted to Pacific Union College, a small undergraduate school in Angwin, run by the Seventh-day Adventists. Otto's early thoughts were to pursue the ministry, but the idea of becoming a physician took hold and he enrolled in the College of Medical Evangelists (now Loma Linda University) to study medicine. These were Depression years, and Otto had to take several months off from time to time to work and earn money for tuition, which his older brother, Dr. Lonnie Neufeld, also helped pay.
He graduated and received his M.D. degree in 1941. He began his internship in radiology at the White Memorial Hospital, where he then was a resident and staff doctor until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in April, 1945. He served in the Pacific Theater and was honorably discharged in Sept., 1946
Soon after returning to Los Angeles, he met Anabel Bulpitt Harris, whose first husband was killed in action in Europe. Otto and Anabel were married on Aug. 15, 1948 and made their home in Glendale. They raised a family of four children and contributed greatly to community, religious and political efforts for half a century.
At the Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Dr. Neufeld headed its Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. His skill, warmth, dedication and kind heart affected thousands of patients over the decades.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Anabel Bulpitt Harris on Sept. 9, 2002. He is survived by his four children (and eight grandchildren): Dennis (Zachery and Emily); Denise (Julia, David and Rachel), Donald (Ethan and Eric) and Debra (Rocky). He also leaves a brother, Ernest, of Kettering, Ohio.
