Dusty LaRae Clemons-Hargis was born on December 23, 1975, in Deer Park, California. She spent her early years in Oklahoma, where she attended primary school and completed the later part of her middle school years back in California at Foothills Elementary School in St Helena, CA. Dusty graduated high school in 1994 from Rio Lindo Adventist Academy in Healdsburg, California, and later attended Heald Business College in Santa Rosa, CA  where she earned an Associate Degree in Business Administration.

Dusty built a successful and fulfilling 20-year career as a bookkeeper and contract administrator for a construction company based in Napa, California. There, she found not only professional success but also a second family, forming lasting friendships built on trust, dedication, and kindness. A woman of deep faith, Dusty was devoted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and held a special love for her most recent congregation in Yountville, California, where her faith and fellowship flourished.

Above all, Dusty loved her family and friends with her whole heart. She had a gentle spirit and an extraordinary compassion for animals of all kinds. Her own animals were her children, and she welcomed everyone else’s pets as part of her extended family. Dusty found joy in the simple, beautiful moments of life—birdwatching with her husband Scott and spending countless hours designing and creating her one-of-a-kind craft projects, each made with care and creativity.

Dusty and her husband Scott had recently moved to Missouri, filled with hope and dreams of building their forever home together. Before that dream could be realized, Dusty peacefully entered into rest on January 8, 2026, in Springfield, Missouri. Dusty will be deeply missed and forever cherished by her loving husband, Scott Otterstrom of Kissee Mills, Missouri; her father, Carl Clemons (Bonnie) of Carmichael, California; her brother, Trevor Clemons (Tamra) of Kissee Mills, Missouri; her mother-in-law, Jan Moffitt (Jeff) of Rohnert Park, California; and her father-in-law, Gerald Otterstrom (Peggy) of Fernley, Nevada. Her quick wit and humor will be missed by all. 

She was preceded in death by her beloved mother, Sandra Sweeney Clemons, and her first husband, William Monroe Hargis.

Cremation arrangements are under the care of Snapp-Bearden Funeral Home & Crematory in Branson, Missouri. Dusty will be laid to rest at a later date with her family in Idaho and a Celebration of Life will be held in California.