Earnest, "Earnie," Howard Wotring was born on March 16, 1936 in Parkersburg, West Virginia in the middle of the "hills" of West Virginia. He died peacefully with his family at his bedside in Oklahoma City, OK, on November 17, 2025. Earnie was preceded by his wife of 65 years, Nancy Neal Robertson Wotring, an Edmond, OK elementary school teacher and principal.

From an early age, Earnie learned to love God, people and music, starting in West Virginia and continuing when his family moved to Marietta, Ohio where he started high school and then to Oklahoma City where Earnie graduated from Classen High School, being voted the Prince of Friendship in his senior year. After high school, he worked and paid his own way to attend the University of Oklahoma where his experiences in the Methodist Wesley Foundation and McFarland Methodist church inspired him to be a minister. He met the love of his life, Nancy, who he married at the end of his senior year at OU. Upon graduation, they moved to Denver, Colorado where he earned his Master's in Theology and subsequently became a Methodist minister. They returned to Oklahoma City where he helped establish B.C. Clark Memorial Methodist Church in Oklahoma City in 1962 and served as its pastor until 1965. Earnie then served as the associate and campus minister at First United Methodist Church in Edmond Oklahoma between 1965 and 1976. He earned his Ph.D. in 1976 in Educational Psychology and soon opened his own counseling office where he helped people walk through hard times and celebrate good times for over 40 years. Earnie presided over hundreds of weddings and the same number of funerals and sat with family members as their loved ones passed from this world. He was a captivating public speaker and loved to use his powerful voice to sing hymns in church.

Earnie loved his family and celebrated with them regularly. As proud as he was of being from the hills, and being an Oklahoman, and being a Wotring, he was equally proud of his educational accomplishments (two masters' degrees and Ph.D.), those of Nancy, his wife, (a master's degree and Ed.D.), his children's educational achievements (two lawyers, two medical doctors, and a master's degree in education) and those of his grandchildren (eight college degrees (OU, UC Berkley, Virginia (2), St. Marks NM, Colgate University, University of Rochester, North Carolina, and one at Dartmouth College), two lawyers with another in law school, one medical doctor and another in medical school, a doctorate in physical therapy, a doctorate in biochemistry, and a master's degree in industrial engineering), and the great-grandchildren who are working on it.

He is survived by his four children: Cynthia N. Wotring Ulrich and her husband Steve Ulrich of Edmond, OK; Deborah M. Wotring of Houston, TX; Melissa M. Wotring-Norman and her husband Bryan Norman of Lubbock, TX; and Earnest W. Wotring and his wife Ju Wotring of Houston, TX. His nine surviving grandchildren include: Aaron F. Meek and his wife, P.J. Meek; Noah E. Meek and his wife Heather Meek; Michelle W. Landis; Alexander E. Norman; Laura N. Landis and her husband Michael Mathis; Jacob F. Norman and his wife Bahar Rahsepar; Elliott B. Norman; Samantha Wotring; and Nicole Wotring. His six great-grandchildren include: Annie Meek, August Meek, Thomas Meek, Ophelia Meek, Lucia Meek, and William Meek. He is survived by his sister Edna Wotring and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. He will also be survived by countless memories for those who had the good fortune to know of his smile, the twinkle of his eyes, and his loving, wise, and helpful guidance and counsel.

Earnie's memorial service will be held in Edmond Oklahoma on January 17, 2026, 10:00AM at First United Methodist Church Edmond, OK. A burial service will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery , Edmond, OK. Instead of flowers, please remember our beloved father by taking a moment to treat each other with love, kindness and respect as was the purpose of his life's work and his fervent wish for us. Or please donate to Edmond Public Schools to celebrate Earnie's love of reading.