In Memoriam: Ottho G. Heldring, 81
Board Member & Treasurer of CAA for Two Decades
Ottho G. Heldring, 81, a board member and treasurer of the Chase Alumni Association since 2005, died on July 17, 2025 in Seattle, WA. He had moved there in May from his home in Towson, MD, to live with his eldest son and receive cancer treatment."For more than 20 years, Ottho used his keen intelligence to help guide the Association," said Ken Jablon, CAA president.
Born and raised in the Netherlands, Heldring came from a long line of distinguished Heldrings, including his father, Jéróme Louis Heldring, who was editor-in-chief of the NRC Handelsblad, considered the Dutch newspaper of record, and his namesake, Ottho Gerhard Heldring (1804–1876), a Dutch preacher and philanthropist who believed in justification through faith but also in social work. He was one of the early leaders of the Dutch temperance movement and known for establishing homes and schools for prostitutes wishing to start a new life and for vulnerable girls and young women. He was important enough to be honored on a Dutch postage stamp in 1938.
Heldring studied economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam before earning an MBA at Columbia University Business School in New York. He joined Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972, where he had positions in Corporate and International Lending (for which he worked three years in Germany), Treasury and Global Trading.
He left Chase in 1998 to become head of Counterparty Risk Management at American Express Bank. From 2001 to July 2022, he represented Lek Securities Corp., a NYSE member execution and clearing firm.
Between 2015 and 2019, Heldring traveled extensively throughout the United States, South Africa, Canada and the UK, documenting his road trips with photos and commentary posted on Facebook.
Heldring was a longtime member of the Netherland-America Foundation (NAF), chairing its Audit Committee for 10 years and serving on its Investment Committee for five.
Among his survivors are his two sons, Thatcher and Daniel; a daughter, Suzanna; two grandsons and his two former wives.
A memorial service is being considered for later in the year in the Netherlands.
Memorial gifts in Heldring’s memory should be given to the Netherland-America Foundation.
Remembrances
Please send remembrances to news@chasealum.org
From Phil Sorace: I had some role in recruiting Ottho to the Bank. I recognized immediately his modesty, intelligence, wit and personal integrity. We developed a collegial friendship, one among many he formed over his years at Chase and I am sure elsewhere. I did not have the pleasure of working with him, but our paths crossed many, many times in the International Department and later in my role in Treasury. He was a dedicated supporter and cheerleader for the Alumni Association where I would periodically hoist a few with him back to the early days at the Women’s Republican Club and various monthly gatherings at watering holes around the City to the more lavish annual events hosted by Chase Manhattan and later JPMorgan Chase. In retirement, Otto’s photos from around the world and the United States reflected his joy and curiosity in life. I truly hope his last days were peaceful.
From Gary Olson: Just want to agree so much with Phil’s remembrance. Not many of us “old” Chase guys are left. It was a really great place to work
From Mary Molloy: I met Ottho Heldring in the early 1990s. I was working in Controllers under Mike Esposito and David Morris, charged with developing accounting policies for a burgeoning portfolio of new fangled derivatives. Ottho worked in Global Markets Credit working with Mike Davis, Bruce Ellard and Ed Kara. He was always willing to share his knowledge and had an intellectually curious mind across a broad range of topics. He was also super social – as much a people person as he was an intellectual, always up for a catch-up, group drinks or get-togethers. I recall having a debate more recently on our country's divide. He tutored me on the "Tocqueville paradox" – a phenomenon of the French Revolution that posits when social conditions and opportunities improve, social frustration grows more quickly. That was our Ottho. Needless to say, I learned alot from Ottho.
Ottho held a genuine love for the Bank. He loved working at Chase and with so many different colleagues and departments, never siloing himself into his own little niche. After he left the bank in 1998, we kept in touch. He is one of the reasons I joined the CAA Board. Sustaining the incredible Chase Alumni Association was an imperative to him. And for 20 years, the CAA Board benefited from his dedication, camaraderie and foresight. In recent years, he shared his Route 66 travels across the United States, amazed at the sites and people he met, sharing not just roadside photos but a peek into the lives and people he met along the way. There was always something to be learned from Ottho.
I would be remiss if I did not mention how proud Ottho was of his Dutch heritage. We all became a little more Dutch thanks to Ottho. Godspeed, Ottho, and thanks for all those wonderful memories.
From Hans van den Houten: Ottho has passed and left this world, but the memories of this good friend will always remain very vivid and alive. Although we were at “Het Rijnlands Lyceum” in Wassenaar, the Netherlands, at the same time, we never knew each other at this high school due to our age difference. Many years later, when I was responsible for Chase International Far East Development in the Corporate Development Department, we were exploring a request from David Rockefeller and YK Pao of Worldwide Shipping Group in Hong Kong, to see if we could create a new company in the ship financing business. Although I had quite a bit of knowledge about the shipping business, I needed more information and believe it or not, it was Ottho who I found in the Chase ship finance division to assist me in answering my questions. Although the ship financing bank never developed, Ottho and I became well acquainted through this encounter at Chase, and our friendship endured for many years. We shared moments with our boys in Manhattan; we dined and partied together and enjoyed the membership of many of the Dutch entities in New York City. Ottho was a faithful member of the Dutch Financial Club, the Netherland Club of New York and the Netherland-America Foundation – needless to repeat, he was valued highly for his very loyal support as the Treasurer of this last charitable organization.
We both got divorced and enjoyed the many outings to my home in Katonah, as well as other joined activities. Upon my retirement in 2005, and remarriage with Marian, we stayed in touch and Ottho came to see Marian and me many times in Almelo, the Netherlands, as well as in our home in Bend, Oregon. Many an evening was filled with conversation about politics, the Dutch New York community and our banking experiences, with good glasses of wine well consumed during these moments together. In later years, his extensive travels in South Africa, the United States and the UK were equally interesting to follow, and these memories were further a link to our backgrounds.
Ottho was a bright, engaged and great friend, who notified us of his move to Seattle due to his medical condition. A good week before his passing, he was on the phone with me from Seattle and still sounded very optimistic about his treatment for his cancer. Thus, the message I received through a friend that Ottho had died, was a tremendous shock. The reality of the end of a friendship due to his passing was hard to take. I once again had to realize that we all have a horizon of life, but none of us knows exactly how far, or how close this horizon will be. Ottho’s horizon came, and we must accept that the personal connection has gone. Yet, once again, the memories will never fade and with this note, I am sending my condolences to his family, friends, and former colleagues, not only within the Chase Alumni Association, but also around the world. May he rest in peace!