HAWARDEN, IOWA ~ Elizabeth Marie (Arends) Otten, 78, of Hawarden, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at the Hawarden Regional Healthcare Hospital.

Funeral Service will be 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 14, 2026, at the Hawarden Community Center with Pastor Carolyn Salberg officiating. Committal service will be 2:30 p.m. at the Beresford City Cemetery at Beresford, South Dakota. Visitation with the family will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. prior to the service and also at the luncheon following the service. The Porter Funeral Home in Hawarden is assisting the family.

Liz was born July 12, 1947, to Wesley and Eileen (Farley) on a farm near Alcester, South Dakota. She graduated in 1965 from Alcester High School. Liz married John Otten on March 28, 1969. They lived in Texas and Oklahoma while John served in the US Army before making their home in Hawarden, Iowa in 1971. She worked at various jobs around the area, mostly in the service industry. She worked the last 20 plus years at Waddy’s Other Bar in Hawarden before retiring in 2025.

Liz will always be remembered for her noon specials at the Other Bar and her love for her family.

She was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxilliary and the Hawarden United Methodist Church. Liz loved spending time watching her family in various activities, camping with her family, and gaming.

Survivors include her husband, John; daughters, Jaylene Topete of Hawarden and Sheila Otten of Hawarden; sons, Michael (Brandi Fedderson) Otten of Beresford, South Dakota and Mark (Stacy) Otten of Bassett, Nebraska; grandchildren, Jared, Joshua, Jessica (Miguel) Eric, Kielee (Wyatt), AJ, Kol, Dru, and Ali; and great-grandchildren, Landyn, Linkyn, Gianna, Brielle, and Blair; her brother, Wesley (Shirley) Arends, Jr. of Colorado; brothers-in-law, Jack Backer of Monroe, South Dakota, Dick Fleschner of Jefferson, South Dakota, and Dick (Jeanette) Otten of Hawarden; and sister-in-law, Elaine Phipps of Marysville, Ohio.

Liz was preceded in death by her parents, Wesley and Eileen Arends; parents-in-law, David and Leona Otten; sisters, Patricia Arends, Jackie Huizinga, Marlene Backer, and Bonnie Fleschner; brothers, an infant brother and Gary Arends; and a brother-in-law, Wayne Phipps.