OLYMPIA – Summit Lake was going to be the future home for Tim Otton and his late wife, Sally.
They were ready to move into a house and start a new chapter. In 2022, Sally Otton passed away after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Tim and the Otton family’’s lives were turned upside down.
So when the organizers of the Sally Strong Summer Event were eyeing Summit Lake Park as the venue, Tim admitted he had a slight concern.
“How is the Summit Lake community going to react?” Tim said. “There’s road obstructions and it is an inconvenience. Don’t want them to have ill will towards us trying to do this.”
Quite the opposite has taken place.
The Summit Lake, Olympia and Tumwater faithful packed the park on Saturday for the second annual event that is used as a fundraiser to find a cure for Parkinson’s. Eighty percent of the proceeds were donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and the remaining 20 percent went to 4 The Love Foundation out of Thurston County.
“They put their whole heart into this,” Tim said. “At the end of it, that’s what we’re doing this for. It is a great way for us to get together and tell stories.”
Throughout the morning and afternoon, smiles were plentiful from the triple digit amount of people that showed up for a super mini triathlon, a cornhole tournament, live music and a silent auction.
Still, there were some tears shed from those close to Sally.
Tessa Effland, co-founder of 4 The Love Foundation, gave the introductory remarks and teared up when talking about how much Sally would have loved a sunny day being around her closest allies.
Tim got choked up, too.
“When she was first diagnosed, she said ‘I’m going to be the best Parkinson’s patient ever,’” he said. “Immediately registered for clinical trials. She’s passionate about doing everything she could do, exercise wise, to hold back the symptoms and enjoy life.
“Smiled all the time, laughed all the time.”
Most of the Otton bunch were in attendance on Saturday, including Ryan Otton, the redshirt sophomore tight end at Washington and Tumwater High School graduate. Cade Otton, currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was unable to come due to the birth of his new baby, Tenille.
“It is amazing to see all the support,” Ryan said. “My mom affected a lot of people’s lives and to see the turnout for her, is amazing. I’m really happy.”
The festivities kicked off with the super mini triathlon, something that was close to Sally. Throughout her life, one of her passions was being in triathlons and competing with others.
Ryan said his mom did one while she was seven months pregnant with him.
“My mom always loved the sun,” Ryan said.
Last summer, the first year of the event, Tim did just the biking portion. This time, he did just the running portion. As soon as he crossed the finish line, Tim and Ryan shared a lengthy embrace. He said he’ll just do the swimming portion next year.
“I’ll probably retire,” Tim said with a laugh.
Ben Mitchell was the overall winner and the first male participant of the triathlon while Jihan Grettenberger secured the win as the fastest female triathlete.
Tana Otton-Marbut has stated she wants this to continuously be an annual event to keep raising money for a cure. Since Sally passed away, the total amount of money has surpassed six figures.
The ceiling only keeps getting higher.
“Keep it going for as long as we can,” Ryan said. “Every year have it be bigger than the last. It is very reflective of Tumwater, the school, it is amazing.”
And although some members of the Otton family are not in the same region geographically, they still make sure to keep talking about Sally.
Tim mentioned how he doesn’t use Facebook, but will view Sally’s and if a memory pops up, he’ll share it with their family group chat.
“It is time for us to talk about her and laugh,” Tim said. “Keep her close and keep our family close. Most important part for her was her family, so I'm going to keep that going.”
