Hometown remembers Otto Warmbier, 'one of our sons.'

WYOMING, Ohio — They came in such grand numbers they couldn’t fit.

So once the auditorium and an auxiliary room were stuffed full, they lined the streets, waving flags and handmade signs as the funeral procession passed.

This for Otto Warmbier, the boy who was known for his eclectic tie collection, his affinity for thrift stores and his in-depth knowledge of rap lyrics.

“He knew every word to pretty much every rap song I think there ever was,” said Chris Colloton, who met Otto in preschool and graduated high school with him in 2013.

Sometimes, Otto himself would try to rap.

“He was never that good,” Colloton said. “I mean, I liked it, but. …”

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Otto, 22, died Monday, just a few days after he was returned from North Korea in a coma.

Otto was brave, Colloton said. He was kind. He was funny, if at times a bit off-color. He was loving, and he was loved.

“If people could know just the extraordinary character he had, that’s all that really matters,” Colloton said. “I think it’s important that his life be remembered for how he lived it and how he approached the world.”

The Wyoming High School auditorium can hold up to 800 people, according to the school’s theater department website. It was filled with designated friends and family. Others were directed to the cafeteria and gym to watch streams of the service. Still others were kept outside, sent to line the sidewalk winding away from the school and down Springfield Pike, the main route out of town toward the burial site.

“We’re a community where we support each other’s families and help them out, from preschool up,” said Wyoming resident Bridget Meyung, standing along the road. 

Meyung doesn’t know the Warmbier family personally, she said, but in Wyoming, that doesn’t matter. Everyone is family.

“When we lose one of our sons," she said, "it really hits home."

By now, the devastating timeline of events that led to Otto's death is well known. In late 2015, he traveled to North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours. He was arrested on Jan. 2, 2016, the final day of his five-day tour, and accused of trying to steal a political banner from a staff-only section of his hotel.

He was tried, convicted and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.

Then, he disappeared.

For 15 months, his family heard nothing. In mid-June, Otto, who reportedly had been in a coma for a year, came home.

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That last part, his friends and family say, that he died at home, surrounded by those who love him, is a small saving grace.

The funeral depicted a goofball of a young man who loved eclectic clothing and sports memorabilia. His brother, Austin, and sister, Greta, both spoke. Each said it was tough living in the shadow of their perfect older brother — who had impeccable grades and didn’t care about popularity but nonetheless was homecoming king.

Rabbi Jake Rubin, from the University of Virginia, described Otto as one of the most genuine and eager people he’s ever met.

Otto had been exploring the Jewish faith and reportedly even took a trip to Israel during college.

Standing outside the school after the service, Otto’s former teacher, Danica White, said Otto was eager to learn and eager to bring his classmates into learning with him. White taught sophomore and honors English to Otto, she said. She knew him and his siblings well.

“He was funny as all get out,” she said, describing the service as a mixture of somber but celebratory. “It was my privilege to come say goodbye.”

Contributing: Amber Hunt, The Cincinnati Enquirer. Follow Hannah Sparling, Dana Branham and Mariel Padilla on Twitter: @hksparling, @danabranham and @marielpadilla_

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