Passing of Ronald (Ron) Ottes

Ronald (Ron) Ottes, former Director of ORA s Office of Regional Operations, passed away peacefully April 20th at the age of 95. Mr. Ottes joined the FDA in 1957 in the Minneapolis Laboratory and stayed with ORA for the remainder of his FDA career.

He retired in 1986, but shortly thereafter re-joined the Agency to contribute to the History Office s Oral History program, where he remained for the next 20 years. Mr. Ottes spent seven decades in the service of food and drug safety at both the State and Federal level.

As former FDA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Ron Chesemore said, Ron Ottes “was a true gentleman and advocate of FDA’s mission for all of his career, including his stint in the history office.”