Robert Otto Holmberg, 85, of Dallas, Texas died Sunday, October 2, 2022, of complications following a stroke. Otto was born June 9, 1937, in Rockford, IL to Robert B. Holmberg (1912-1973) and Julie Celeste (MacGregor) Holmberg (1913-1999). He was predeceased by a sister, Grace Holmberg Hewitt (1935-2016).
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude, majoring in English, from Harvard College in Boston, MA in 1960 where he was a member of Dudley House. Otto then enlisted in the U.S. Navy. In the Navy he graduated from the Officer Candidate School in March of 1961. Otto volunteered for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) which necessitated attending and graduating from USN, Underwater Swimmers School, followed by intensive ordnance disposal training in all types of ordnance, including nuclear weapons. Otto was first in his EOD class and was assigned and granted Top Secret Clearance. In the day, Otto was considered one of the Frogmen. He had many interesting stories from his experiences in the Navy.
Following his discharge from the Navy, Otto attended Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York City where he earned an MBA. This led to a career on Wall Street where he worked in the securities business as a money manager, bond trader, and salesman garnering significant time and responsibility at such firms as The First Boston Corporation, Morgan Stanley & Co., Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., and GTE Group.
Otto, being a man of many varied interests, left Wall Street after a 20-year career to pursue his love of the art of cooking. He earned an Associate’s Degree in Occupational Studies in Culinary Arts at The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY. He spent the next years of his life working in several East Coast restaurant kitchens from the Essex House in New York City to the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, Florida before moving to Dallas, TX. After moving to Dallas, he became a teacher of the culinary arts at The Art Institute of Dallas, the Viking Culinary Arts Center and Collin County Community College. He thoroughly enjoyed cooking and teaching and was a gifted chef. He once embarked on an effort to write a cookbook on the art of making brownies, but abandoned the task, declaring it to be too fattening.
Otto enjoyed the shooting sports. He was a member of the Dallas Gun Club where he was an avid sporting clay shooter and long-range rifle shooter. He was a shotgun shooting instructor for the Orvis Company in upstate New York. He enjoyed upland bird hunting and the challenge of cooking game birds.
Otto loved great literature, great guns, great food, fast cars, and beautiful women. He lived a full and wonderful life, and will be missed by his many friends.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2023, at 3:00 PM at St Barnabas Episcopal Church, 601 W. Creek St., Fredericksburg, TX 78624. An interment at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery will be on Friday, March 31, 2023, the time to be determined. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Sparkman-Hillcrest.com for the Holmberg family.
