Obituaries

Tribute: Olin Mott, 92, Dies, His Heart For Children Remembered

Dottie Berger MacKinnon recounts her long association with Olin L. Mott, who died today, July 2. "He was one of a kind."

This story first posted July 2, 2013.

News spread quickly today, about the death of Olin Mott, 92, who, according to Dottie Berger MacKinnon, was a deep and trusted friend who left behind a legacy rich in kindness and compassion for children.

"He was such a wonderful gift to this community, and to me especially," Berger MacKinnon wrote in a Facebook post this morning, July 2. "Loved that man so much.'

For MacKinnon, the friendship dated back to the 1970's, when she was working with Bob Thomas, who in turn had a deep friendship with Mott. At the time, she said, the two men were very involved with horses and raised money to build what today is called the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center.

"The three of us were like a team," MacKinnon said in a telephone interview today, July 2. "Anything you asked Olin to do he would do and he would always say, 'Dottie, load up my wagon, anything you need,' and he was always there for me, for years and years and years."

It was that association that helped MacKinnon realize the impossible when she sought to establish a safe haven for abused, abandoned, and neglected children, today known as the Joshua House.

"There were like six children in this region who had died while in foster care or who had been killed by their parents and I just decided we needed to provide a safe place   so the state could never say there wasn't a place for these kids to go to," MacKinnon said. "I didn't know how to pay for it. Bob Thomas realized I would never give up on this dream, so we went from there and found a location and started raising money and Olin Mott was a great big part of that."

MacKinnon this year was inducted into the Hillsborough County Women's Hall of Fame, as the founder of Joshua House, Friends of Joshua House, Kids Charity of Tampa Bay and A Kid’s Place in Brandon. She also served as a Hillsborough County commissioner, from 1994-1998, and on the board at Tampa General Hospital.

Thomas died four years ago, and Mott "used to go to the cemetery and talk to him after he passed away," MacKinnon said. "They were from a generation that was very different from the generations today. Just for being so compassionate, so caring. Just looking out for other people. It was never about self, it was always aout the other person, especially kids."

MacKinnon noted that in recent years, Mott established at the Joshua House a mentoring program for children there, using the talents of graduate students at the University of South Florida. That mentoring program was so successful, she said, it was expanded to include mentoring work with students enrolled at Hillsborough County public schools that had received an "F" grade from the state.

As with anything else, "Olin Mott just went out and did it," MacKinnon said. "He didn't form a task force or committee or anything. He saw the success we had with this program at Joshua House, made it larger and took it into other schools."

MacKinnon said Mott "died of old age." Having lost a kidney in World War II, Mott had been on dialysis.

"The last six months took its toll," she said, noting that up until that time, Mott had still been going to the office, at the Olin Mott Tire Store that started his chain. "He was 92-years-old and he had a full life."

"He was just a very giving, loving, kind person, just somebody you could always trust, somebody who was always there for you," MacKinnon said. "He was one of a kind. He was Olin Mott."
 




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