Ottilda, or Tillie as she was called, was born on the Freise farm. She grew up there, had an active part in the outdoor chores including the field work, and became adaptable enough to cope with any situation. She attended country school, as did all the Freise children until they were of significant help on the farm, when their schooling usually ended.

As a young woman, Tillie showed much interest in religious activities and went to church meetings as often as possible. It should be noted the family as yet had no auto for trips to town. A journey of 4 1/2 miles in the evening by horse and buggy was a considerable chore, infrequently made.

In about 1908 Tillie married Richard Meyer, whose farm was near that of her sister and brother-in-law, Annie and Herman Rasch. This farm was quite a few miles north and east of her parental farm, in a lonesome and isolated area. Tillie and Richard coped well with the situation, however, Richard being of a rather jovial disposition, and they had an enjoyable life together.

However, in 1923 Richard died of encephalitis at age 35, leaving Tillie, not yet 34, with a farm to operate and no sons to help her, only a daughter not yet 14. So her neighbors put in the crop that spring, and her younger brother Paul managed the farm and brought in the harvest while home for the summer from medical school. Then she sold the farm and moved to New Salem where she and her daughter Wilma lived with her mother. In New Salem she found a job she enjoyed in a retail store.

As time went by, she became reacquainted with the pastor who had officiated at her marriage to Richard Meyer and in about 1929 she married him, the Rev. Ferd Mathias. He was about 44 and she about 40. She then moved with him to his parish in Artois, California. After Pastor Mathias' death in 1947, Tillie moved to Vallejo, California, and lived with her daughter, Wilma, until her death in 1981.