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West
Bloomfield As a young German soldier, Otto
Binggeser arrived in Magdeburg to meet up with his Panzer Unit. Otto met
Lonny Angevorth on his nineteenth birthday on March 12, 1942 and they were
married on July 14, 1945. They would never have dreamed back then that they
would be cele-brating their Diamond Anniversary here in America sixty years
later!
Otto served with
the German Army for over five years and miraculously made it back to
Magdeburg, when the war ended, with nothing but the tattered old clothes on
his back. On their wedding day Otto and Lonny exchanged vows with a few
friends and relatives and although there was no meat available at the
reception, plenty of salad, vegetables, flowers, and good wishes were
enjoyed. November of 1945 saw Otto and Lonny flee the Russian Zone" at
Magdeburg and move to Stuttgart, which was not too far from Otto's hometown
of Welzheim. They lived and worked there for the next few years as well as
welcoming their first daughter Ursula into the family. In 1953, Otto and
Lonny emigrated to the United States and arrived in New York's Harbor on
Lonny's birthday (April 7th). They traveled to the Detroit area from there
and have called this home since then. A year later, he started his painting
business as well as having their second daughter, Susie. The following year,
Otto expanded into the drywall business, in addition to painting. By 1958,
he was already one of the three largest painting and drywall contractors in
the Metropolitan Detroit area.
In 1960, he
founded Bing Construction Company and built his first two homes within three
blocks of the company's present office location in Bloomfield Hills. Over
the next 45 years, Bing Construction built over 1,000 homes in Bloomfield
Township, Northville, West Bloomfield, Beverly Hills, Farmington,
Southfield, Troy, and Lake Orion.
Otto has served as
president of Michigan Drywall Contractors Association, president of Building
Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan (BIA), and board member of the
National Association of Home Builders. A member of BIA since 1956, Otto is a
lifetime board member of BIA and Michigan Association of Homes Builders. He
was selected to the BIA's Hall of Fame in 1997.
An avid deer and
big game hunter, Otto spends a lot of time at his 500acre retreat just north
of Gaylord in Otsego County. He has planted hundreds of thousands of trees
on this property, and in 1983 was named Otsego County Tree Farmer of the
Year". This project is his pride and joy. He has devoted a great deal of
time developing this property into a bountiful recreation area for family
and friends. Otto and Lonny also spend time in Florida, and have owned
several condominiums there over the years. Otto and Lonny have taken family
members on cruises, Caribbean vacations, and a trip to Europe. They have
traveled to Europe, Asia, the Mediterranean, Africa, Hawaii, and Alaska over
the years.
Otto and Lonny
have two daughters: Ursula who, with Doug, has a daughter, Leslie and a son,
Christopher; and Susie and Mark, who have daughters, Kalie and Tarrin. They
also have three great grandchildren. |
