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Paul A. Dotterer, 99, of Mill Hall, Pa., passed away peacefully at his home on Sept. 8, 2026, with his family by his side. Born Jan. 8, 1927, in Mill Hall, he was the ninth of 10 children born to the late Beza Calvin and Florence E. Clymer Dotterer.
Paul was a farmer at heart from his earliest days, raised on his family's farm known for registered Percheron horses and Holstein dairy cows.
He attended Clintondale grade school through grade 8. During his time at Lock Haven High School, Paul's singing career began with solos in the school's Glee Club. After a stint at Elmhurst College, he returned to the family farm.
It was at Hecla Park Skating Rink that he met Jean Garbrick, whom he married on Oct. 21, 1949.
He then began working at Loudon Kyle Dairy. Harvey Corson, the Allis-Chalmers dealer in Muncy, Pa., hired him away from Kyle Dairy.
In 1951, with the help of his father-in-law, Paul and Jean took a leap of faith and began a dairy farm of 15 cows on 157 acres. In 1952, he and his brother, Lawrence, founded Dotterer Equipment, an Allis-Chalmers dealership that continues to operate today on Route 64 in Mill Hall, and now under the ownership of Karl and Cindy Walizer and family.
A pioneer of no-till farming, soybean roasting and manure application, Paul was honored in 1962 with the Jaycees Outstanding Young Farmer award. The prize was a free flying lesson, which sparked a lifelong passion for flying; he earned his private pilot's license and instrument rating 10 years later.
Paul devoted himself to the agricultural community he loved, serving 21 years on the board of Northeastern Farm Credit, more than 20 years with the Clinton County Conservation District and as president of the Pennsylvania Grassland Council in 1980.
Paul was a longtime member of the Lock Haven Community Chorus, where he sang for more than 45 years, and he served faithfully on the Mt. Bethel Church Council where he was a member.
Paul and Jean had six children in which two of them stayed on and expanded the farm known today as Dotterer Dairy, with over 1,200 milk cows and cropping over 3,000 acres. This is now being carried on by the third generation of the family, with a fourth generation not far behind.
Paul remained active well into his nineties restoring old Allis-Chalmers tractors as well as working alongside his sons and grandchildren and running his last corn harvest at age 96.
He will be remembered for his strong faith, his work ethic, his quick wit and his abiding love for his family and the land he tended for a lifetime.
Paul was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Jean, with whom he shared 76 years of marriage. He was the last of his nine siblings to pass.
He is survived by his six children, Kathy Ebeling, Larry (Nancy) Dotterer and John (Susan) Dotterer, all of Mill Hall; David Dotterer, of New York City; James Dotterer, of Robbinsville, N.C.; and Patricia (John) Rendleman, of Trumbull, Conn.
He is also survived by eight grandchildren, Jennifer (Robert) Dunlap, of Columbus, Mont.; Amanda (Glenn) Condo, Candice (Dan) White, Katherine Dotterer, and husband, Michael, of Gettysburg, Pa., Lori (Logan) Butler, Doug (Cortney) Dotterer and Brian Ebeling, all of Mill Hall; and Carl Ebeling, of Front Royal, Va.; as well as nine great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Oct. 10, (Paul would have wanted the corn crop brought in before a celebration) at approximately 12:30 p.m. behind the Farmer's Dotterer Store on Route 64, 6102 Nittany Valley Drive. There will be a tractor parade departing at 10 a.m. from the Farmer's Dotterer Store.
Memorial donations in Paul's name can be sent to Nittany Antique Machinery Association, PO Box 498, Centre Hall, PA 16828.
Thoughts and memories can be made at the Gedon Funeral Homes Facebook page or www.GedonFuneralHomes.com.