Darren Scott Othick

DARREN SCOTT OTHICK, age 52, passed away November 30, 2018 in Manhattan, KS. Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday, December 8 at 2:30pm at Journey Bible Church, 13700 W. 151st, Olathe, KS, with visitation to begin at 1:00pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Operation Gratitude which gifts our servicemen/women and their children, Journey Bible Church's Widow and Orphan Fund, or the Fraternal Order of Police in Lawrence, KS.

Darren was born October 29, 1966 in Topeka, KS to Wayne and Nancy Othick. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1985. Darren served our country in the US Air Force from 1986 to 1990. Darren later became one of Lawrence's Finest when he joined the Lawrence Police Department and had the pleasure of working alongside his dad. Darren was employed by LKPD from 1991 to 2008. Darren then started a small business, American Design which evolved to what it is today, a small-business, service-disabled company in which he personally provided grounds maintenance and janitorial services.


On May 27, 1989, he married Meghan Zimmerman, and they made their home in Douglas and Johnson Counties in Kansas. To them, two children were born; Caleb Wayne Othick and Kara Breann Othick.


Darren held many jobs over the years. He always thought of his family first when considering new opportunities. The primary component was not financial gain, but whether his family-time would be compromised. Most of his married life, he worked two jobs to provide a better life for his family. He was employed with the Lawrence Kansas Police Department from 1991 to 2008 following a career-ending injury which left him unable to perform the duties as a patrolman. Also during part of that time, Darren and his dad started a father-son business, Othick & Son Custom Buildings, building pole-barns primarily in Douglas and surrounding counties in Kansas. Darren treasured that special time with his dad and spoke of it fondly. In 2008, Darren chose to teach himself the trades of screen-printing and commercial embroidery; the small business, American Design was born. Darren loved learning about the intricacies of both and enjoyed using his creative skills to craft tools to make his job more efficient. Really, his deepest love and what made him the happiest were the friendships he quickly made with his customers. Darren held his work to a higher standard. The bottom-line suffered a bit when a finished project was slightly off-center - it went to the donations bin even if he was the only one who could discern the error. He had a desire to build personal relationships with his customers and quickly, they became friends. For the past five years Darren's company grew to provide grounds maintenance, janitorial, and other needs as identified by the United States Army (primarily in the state of Kansas). Darren was privileged to once again work along side his father. And in the past two years his son Caleb joined him to learn from his dad, in some of these roles. Again, Darren's guiding principles were love of people and a job-well-done.


He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and enjoyed being with family, attending soccer games, and learning about our country, plainly expressing his views- even if that did get him banned from Twitter once or twice. Most recently, at the suggestion of his daughter, he also enjoyed exploring different coffee shops, quite a dichotomy from the large QT iced tea cup that was never far from his reach.


Darren's faith in Jesus Christ was the driving force in his life. He trusted in Jesus alone for his salvation in 2007. Darren loved the Lord and chose to proclaim his faith publicly through baptism. Since that time, Darren continued to develop and grow strong in his faith. He was a tender warrior who had a servant's heart, endless love for his family, and a fervent desire to be a Godly husband, father and friend. It is the reality of his faith and the promises of God which gave him and his family the assurance of an eternal life beyond his earthly-life. They now know that Darren is in the glorious presence of his Lord and Savior. He is in a place where every tear has been wiped away, where there is no more death or pain, and where the former things have passed away.


Surviving family members include his wife, Meghan, his son Caleb and daughter Kara, his sister Sonja, and his parents. He was preceded in death by Elmer and Mable Othick.

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