Otis, Rose Marie (Neisen) (1940–2023)

Rose Otis was the first director of the General Conference’s Department of Women’s Ministries. She was also the first woman to be elected a vice president of the North American Division and later, vice president of the Texas Conference.

Early Life

Born on April 22, 1940, in Manistee, Michigan, Rose Marie Neisen was the daughter of Clyde Harlan Neisen (1919-2000), an automobile mechanic, and Grace Jeanette Olsen (1921-1990), a stenographer. The Neisens were a Swedish-American family. Grace’s family joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church around 1890.¹ Grace’s maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Appleton Alkire (1860-1934), was credited with starting the first Seventh-day Adventist elementary school not affiliated with a college or training school.² Rose’s siblings included John Harlan (1942-2024) and twins, Amy and Eric, born in 1960. Rose was baptized before she went to academy.³

Education, Family, and Early Career

Rose Niesen enrolled at Cedar Lake Academy, graduating in 1958.⁴ Throughout her academy years she was a student leader, serving as student association president and vice president of her senior class. Following academy graduation, she trained as a licensed practical nurse at the Indiana School of Practical Nursing. She completed nursing training in 1960 and worked briefly at a hospital in Indianapolis.⁵

Rose married Harold Fred “Bud” Otis, Jr., (1938-) on March 1, 1959. They had been classmates at Cedar Lake Academy. Harold was the son of Harold Fred and Bernice Otis. Harold, Sr. served as a publishing secretary in the Indiana and Michigan conferences for twenty-five years. Rose and Harold Otis had two children: H. Todd, born in 1961, and Heidi Lynn, born in 1964.

Not long after they married and Rose completed nursing training, the Otises moved to Manistee, Michigan, where Rose worked at Memorial Hospital, and Harold worked construction for her grandfather. They moved to Berrien Springs, Michigan, in 1961 where Rose worked as a nurse for two years at Pawating Hospital in Niles, Michigan, while Harold attended Andrews University⁶ and, followed his father’s example, worked as a literature evangelist. Rose subsequently stayed home with her young children as the family followed Harold’s career in Seventh-day Adventist conference publishing departments, where he supervised literature evangelists. Between 1965 and 1977, the Otises lived in Takoma Park, Maryland; Reading, Pennsylvania, and Richardson, Texas, before returning to Takoma Park. Rose also worked as a part time administrative assistant in the publishing department while they were in the Pennsylvania Conference.⁷

Rose returned to fulltime work as the public relations director for the Review and Herald Publishing Association in 1978 at the same time that Harold became president of the publishing house.⁸ In this role, she regularly published reports on the construction of the new printing and office facilities in Hagerstown, Maryland, as well as the subsequent move into these buildings.⁹

Moving Toward Women’s Ministries

As the decade of the 1970s began, Rose Otis began engaging in activities that supported women. She wrote articles for wives and mothers, encouraging them to make Sabbath special for their families and to take time with children.¹⁰ In 1971 at the Reading, Pennsylvania, Junior Academy she taught a “course [that] included many practical aspects of life. Good grooming, conduct, behavior, and other areas relevant to Christian growth were incorporated in the course.”¹¹ While Harold met with the literature evangelists in the Southwestern Union Conference, Rose held meetings for their wives.¹²

Around 1982, while living in Hagerstown, Rose served on the board of the San Mar Home for Girls (now San Mar Family and Community Services), which provided care and services for adolescent girls coming from troubled homes. She remained involved with this organization until the Otises began their work in Russia.¹³

Beginning in 1986, General Conference President Neal C. Wilson, and other church leaders, initiated negotiations with government leaders in the Soviet Union¹⁴ for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to obtain property. Over the next couple of years, these negotiations led to the Soviet government, in late 1987, inviting the General Conference to open a publishing house in Russia (see The Source of Life Publishing House). By this time the Adventist Church in Russia was considering formalizing church governance organizations and requested assistance. Consequently, the Otises were asked to work in Russia. Harold was appointed special assistant to the General Conference president for Russian affairs and Rose was designated special projects assistant.¹⁵ In fact, they had already visited Russia in 1987, delivering literature and preaching under the watch eye of the KGB.¹⁶ Rose was active in soliciting donations of literature for Russia.¹⁷

The Otises made more than twenty trips between the United States and Russia in the course of their work. As Harold spoke in Russian churches, he asked Rose to accompany him on the platform. At the time, it was unusual for a woman to speak from the pulpit; however, Rose’s participation in leading worship services, according to observers, encouraged Russian women spiritually and improved their sense of worth in the church. General Conference leaders who visited Russia noticed the impact of Rose’s interaction with Russian women. Harold credited Rose’s appointment as women’s ministries director, at least in part, to her work in Russia.¹⁸

Becoming Women’s Ministries Director

Throughout the 1980s, there had been increasing interest in ministry by women and spiritual programming for women in the Adventist Church. Although the 1985 General Conference Session declined to take action on the ordination of women as ministers, at the autumn council that year the General Conference did organize the Women's Ministries Advisory Committee “to educate our people regarding the major roles that women may fill in the Lord's work without ordination.” Betty Holbrook, with the title of coordinator of women’s ministries, chaired the advisory committee. Among the tasks assigned to this committee, comprised of all women, was a charge to create content for publication in Adventist Review, Ministry, and Journal of Adventist Education.¹⁹ The committee was also able to increase the number of women participating on standing committees at the General Conference.²⁰ Karen Flowers followed Holbrook as women’s ministries coordinator in 1988.²¹

On October 4, 1990, the General Conference established the Office of Women’s Ministries, which reported directly to the president.²² Rose was appointed women’s ministries coordinator.²³ Not only did she now chair the advisory committee, she also began to systematically create a broad program for women’s ministries. This included traveling around the world to help organize the work of women’s ministries in divisions, unions, and conferences from the Far East to Europe and South America. The goal of these visits was to train women’s ministries leaders in each region and help them start local women’s ministries programs. Her efforts not only resulted in programs to nurture women spiritually, but also broke barriers for women when church leaders saw a woman speak from the pulpit for the first time.²⁴

Rose was particularly concerned about the “destructive influence in women’s lives” of the social and economic changes in the world.²⁵ She identified six key issues that the Department of Women’s Ministries continues to address: illiteracy, poverty, health threats, workloads, abuse and domestic violence, and lack of training, mentoring, and educational opportunities.²⁶ Two of her most enduring legacies to women’s ministries were launched during her first two years in office. She edited a devotional book written by women for women, Among Friends, released in 1992.²⁷ It was followed by The Listening Heart,²⁸ A Gift of Love,²⁹ A Moment of Peace,³⁰ Close to Home,³¹ and From the Heart.³² The proceeds from the publication of these annual devotional books funded a scholarship program to help women obtain higher education, which Rose named SOS: Scholarshipping Our Sisters.³³

In 1994, under Rose’s leadership, the International Women’s Day of Prayer was established to be held the first Sabbath of March each year. The annual Women’s Ministries Emphasis Day on the second Sabbath of June (with a special offering for Women’s Ministries) was also added to the General Conference calendar of special events in 1994.³⁴ The General Conference designated 1995 as the “Year of the Adventist Woman.” Rose was authorized to coordinate programming with division women’s ministries leaders around the world. “The purpose [was] to place special emphasis on the contributions women have made to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to enable women to more fully recognize their value in God's sight, to assist women in identifying their spiritual gifts, and to prepare Seventh-thy Adventist women to be more effective in all spheres of church life.” The fully developed program showcased Rose’s abilities in public relations, encompassing three categories: spiritual, social, and intellectual. Within each category, a broad range of programming facilitated both the personal spiritual growth of women and their ability to reach out to others. It included fundraising projects to improve women’s lives and campaigns to share stories, both past and present, about the contributions of women to the Seventh-day Adventist Church.³⁵

In 1995, the Office of Women’s Ministries became an official department of the General Conference with Rose as director. On October 31, 1995, Rose was a made a general field secretary for the General Conference in addition to her directorship of Women’s Ministries.³⁶

The following year, Rose became the first woman to be elected as a vice president of the North American Division. Her tenure began January 11, 1997. She continued to lead women’s ministries as well for the North American Division.³⁷ She made history again in 1998 when she accepted a vice president position in the Texas Conference, again the first woman to hold this office. She also continued to direct women’s ministries for the conference until her retirement in 2002.

Later Life

Declining health led Rose to resign in 2002. She and Harold retired in Frederick, Maryland. Rose Otis died on January 7, 2023.³⁸

Legacy

While Rose’s children were young, she worked in the home and served in a supportive, partnership role for her husband’s career. As a result, her entry into denominational leadership came later in life. Although she only spent twelve years working in leadership, she built programs that supported women spiritually, socially, and financially and that persist to this day. The foundation she laid for women in Seventh-day Adventist leadership was ground-breaking, as she served as the “first” in three different levels of church governance.

Remarkably, all of Rose’s major initiatives continue to benefit Seventh-day Adventist women. As of 2025, 32 devotional books have been published, the proceeds of which continue to fund scholarships for Adventist women studying higher education. A growing base of external financial support is extending the reach of the scholarship fund launched by proceeds from Rose’s devotional books. More than US$1.4 million has been distributed to women in 140 countries so far. After Rose’s death, the Rose Otis Scholarship Memorial Fund was established “for women in the neediest countries.”³⁹

Sources

Canosa, Louis. “Reading Home and School Association Features Christian Charm Course.” Columbia Union Visitor, July 8, 1971.

General Conference Committee. General Conference Archives. Accessed March 2, 2025.

Good, Carol. “Literature Evangelists' Awards Program.” Southwestern Union Record, March 27, 1976.

Harvey, Susan Phelps. “Rose Otis: A Life Rich in God’s Work.” Renewed and Ready, September 2008, 41-44.

Johnsson, William G. “Adventists and the Soviet Union: A New Era?” ARH, May 7, 1987.

North American Division Committee. General Conference Archives. Accessed March 2, 2025.

Rose Marie Otis Appointee File. General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland.

“Rose Marie Otis obituary.” Stauffer Funeral Home. 2023. Accessed February 26, 2025. https://www.staufferfuneralhome.com/obituaries/rose-marie-otis.

“Rose Otis, First General Conference Women’s Ministries Director, First Woman to Serve as a North American Division Vice President, Passes to Her Rest.” North American Division Office of Communication. February 1, 2023. Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.nadadventist.org/news/rose-otis-first-general-conference-womens-ministries-director-first-woman-serve-north-american.

Otis, Rose. Among Friends: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1992.

Otis, Rose. Close to Home: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996.

Otis, Rose. From the Heart. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1997.

Otis, Rose. A Gift of Love: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1994.

Otis, Rose. “How Many More Days Until Sabbath?” Columbia Union Visitor, May 28, 1970, 10.

Otis, Rose. The Listening Heart: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1993.

Otis, Rose. A Moment of Peace. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995.

Otis, Rose. “Office of Women’s Ministries: Report Presented at the General Conference Session.” ARH, July 11, 1995.

Otis, Rose. “Review and Herald Celebrates Grand Opening.” AHR, September 8, 1983.

Otis, Rose. “SDAs Featured at Moscow Book Fair.” ARH, November 26, 1987, 24.

Otis, Rose. “Take Time to be a Mother.” ARH, February 19, 1970, 9.

Quigley, W. B. “Harold (Bud) Otis, Jr., Accepts R&H Managership.” Columbia Union Visitor, May 4, 1978.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Takoma Park, MD; Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1965-2002.

Small, Heather-Dawn. “Remembering Rose Otis: First Director of Women’s Ministries.” Women’s Ministries, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. January 25, 2023. Accessed February 27, 2025. https://women.adventist.org/remembering-rose-otis-first-director-of-womens-ministries.

Wendth, Ernest. “Michigan Schools: Where It All Began.” Lake Union Herald, April 11, 1972.

Williams, E. R. “Albert Alkire obituary.” ARH, April 26, 1890.

Women’s Scholarship Program. General Conference Women’s Ministries Department. Accessed March 5, 2025. https://women.adventist.org/assets/public/files/Scholarshipping%20Our%20Sisters/Scholarship_brochure_2016.pdf.

Notes

1. E. R. Williams, “Albert Alkire obituary,” ARH, April 26, 1890, 15.↩

2. Ernest Wendth, “Michigan Schools: Where It All Began,” Lake Union Herald, April 11, 1972, 24-26.↩

3. Harold Otis, Jr. to the author, telephone call, February 27, 2025.↩

4. Verified by Tracy Morgan, alumni directory, Great Lakes Adventist Academy, via email, March 3, 2025.↩

5. Harold Otis, Jr. to the author, telephone call, February 27, 2025; Rose Marie Otis Appointee File, General Conference Archives, Silver Spring, Maryland.↩

6. “Official Graduation List,” Andrews University, 2015, accessed February 28, 2025, https://vault.andrews.edu/vault/app/gradlist/collect_list_of_graduates.↩

7. “Literature Evangelists’ Awards Program,” Southwestern Union Record, March 27, 1976, 14.↩

8. Unless otherwise noted, all of the information in this paragraph was provided by Rose’s husband. Harold Otis, Jr. to the author, telephone call, February 27, 2025. Also see: “Rose Otis, First General Conference Women’s Ministries Director, First Woman to Serve as a North American Division Vice President, Passes to Her Rest,” North American Division Office of Communication, February 1, 2023, accessed February 19, 2025, https://www.nadadventist.org/news/rose-otis-first-general-conference-womens-ministries-director-first-woman-serve-north-american; W. B. Quigley, “Harold (Bud) Otis, Jr., Accepts R&H Managership,” Columbia Union Visitor, May 4, 1978, 13; and General Conference Committee, May 18, 1978, 119, General Conference Archives, accessed February 20, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1978-05.pdf.↩

9. See for example, Rose Otis, “Review and Herald Celebrates Grand Opening,” AHR, September 8, 1983, 6-7.↩

10. Rose Otis, "How Many More Days Until Sabbath?" Columbia Union Visitor, May 28, 1970, 8; and Rose Otis, “Take Time to be a Mother,” ARH, February 19, 1970, 9.↩

11. Louis Canosa, “Reading Home and School Association Features Christian Charm Course,” Columbia Union Visitor, July 8, 1971, 11.↩

12. Carol Good, “Literature Evangelists' Awards Program,” Southwestern Union Record, March 27, 1976, 14.↩

13. Harold Otis, Jr. to the author, telephone call, February 27, 2025.↩

14. The Otises’ work in Russia began under the Soviet Union and continued through its dissolution. News reports about their work used Soviet Union and Russia interchangeably throughout this period.↩

15. General Conference Committee, October 11, 1988, 446-447, General Conference Archives, accessed March 4, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1988-10.pdf; “General Conference: Administration,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1989), 17; and “General Conference: Administration,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1990), 15.↩

16. Harold Otis, Jr. to the author, telephone call, February 27, 2025; General Conference Committee, September 3, 1987, 3004, General Conference Archives, accessed March 4, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1987-09.pdf; and William G. Johnsson, “Adventists and the Soviet Union: A New Era?” ARH, May 7, 1987, 9-11.↩

17. See “Literature Requests,” ARH, November 12, 1987, 22.↩

18. Harold Otis, Jr. to the author, telephone call, February 27, 2025.↩

19. General Conference Committee, October 15, 1985, 411-412, General Conference Archives, accessed March 5, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1985-10.pdf.↩

20. General Conference Committee, September 24, 1987, 337-340, General Conference Archives, accessed March 5, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1987-09.pdf.↩

21. General Conference Committee, April 6, 1988, 114, General Conference Archives, accessed March 5, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1988-04.pdf.↩

22. General Conference Committee, October 4, 1990, 371, General Conference Archives, accessed March 5, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1990-10a.pdf.↩

23. Heather-Dawn Small, “Remembering Rose Otis: First Director of Women’s Ministries.” Women’s Ministries, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. January 25, 2023, accessed February 27, 2025, https://women.adventist.org/remembering-rose-otis-first-director-of-womens-ministries.↩

24. Harold Otis, Jr. to the author, telephone call, February 27, 2025; General Conference Committee, May 23, 1991, 202, General Conference Archives, accessed March 2, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1991-05.pdf.↩

25. General Conference Committee, October 12, 1992, 236, General Conference Archives, accessed March 2, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1992-10b.pdf.↩

26. Heather-Dawn Small, “Remembering Rose Otis: First Director of Women’s Ministries.” Women’s Ministries, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. January 25, 2023, accessed February 27, 2025, https://women.adventist.org/remembering-rose-otis-first-director-of-womens-ministries; see also, “Women’s Ministries Six Challenge Issues,” Women’s Ministries, 2025, accessed March 13, 2025, https://women.adventist.org/six-challenge-issues.↩

27. Rose Otis, Among Friends: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1992).↩

28. Rose Otis, The Listening Heart: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1993).↩

29. Rose Otis, A Gift of Love: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1994).↩

30. Rose Otis, A Moment of Peace (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1995).↩

31. Rose Otis, Close to Home: A Daily Devotional for Women by Women (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996).↩

32. Rose Otis, From the Heart (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1997).↩

33. Women’s Scholarship Program, General Conference Women’s Ministries Department, accessed March 5, 2025, https://women.adventist.org/assets/public/files/Scholarshipping%20Our%20Sisters/Scholarship_brochure_2016.pdf.↩

34. Rose Otis, “Office of Women’s Ministries: Report Presented at the General Conference Session,” ARH, July 11, 1995, 8-9.↩

35. General Conference Committee, April 7, 1993, 25-29, General Conference Archives, accessed March 2, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1993-04.pdf.↩

36. General Conference Committee, October 31, 1995, 479, General Conference Archives, accessed March 2, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1995-10b.pdf.↩

37. North American Division Committee, November 6, 1996, 199 and November 7, 1996, 267, General Conference Archives, accessed March 2, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/NAD/NAD19961106-01.pdf and https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/NAD/NAD19961107-01.pdf.↩

38. “Rose Otis, First General Conference Women’s Ministries Director, First Woman to Serve as a North American Division Vice President, Passes to Her Rest.” North American Division Office of Communication. February 1, 2023. Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.nadadventist.org/news/rose-otis-first-general-conference-womens-ministries-director-first-woman-serve-north-american.↩

39. Heather-Dawn Small, “Remembering Rose Otis: First Director of Women’s Ministries.” Women’s Ministries, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. January 25, 2023, accessed February 27, 2025, https://women.adventist.org/remembering-rose-otis-first-director-of-womens-ministries.↩