Marvin Cotton

Marvin G. Cotton, 70, a resident of Bettendorf, Iowa passed away November 17, 2010 after a short battle with cancer. He showed us all how to die with grace and class; he maintained his sense of humor and positive attitude to the end of his life.

Marvin was born December 1,1939 in Ballinger, Texas. He moved to Stratford, Texas in 1950 where he worked for various farmers and grain elevators. He married Marysue Taylor on September 10, 1960 and with her enjoyed 50 years of marriage.

He graduated from West Texas State College (now West Texas A & M) in 1962 with a BBA in marketing. He received masters degrees in systems management from the Florida Institute of Technology and contract procurement management from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Marvin served in Vietnam as an Officer in the Ordnance Corps. His decorations included a Bronze Star Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, a Vietnam Campaign Medal, two overseas service ribbons, and a parachutist badge. His blindness in one eye since childhood made his military service more remarkable. As a Department of the Army civilian, he worked on the Rock Island Arsenal for 31 years, retiring in 1994. He received a Superior Civilian Service Award, the nation’s third highest civilian award, for his service.

Marvin enjoyed his retirement more than most. He enjoyed spending time with his family, most notably with his grandchildren. He made every activity an adventure and always had lots of fun. His grandchildren and many friends will cherish their memories of adventures with him.

He had numerous hobbies, the most recent of which were fishing, hunting, gunsmithing, and bee-keeping. One of his fondest accomplishments was the establishment and furnishing of his dead animal room (a room where you display your taxidermied mounts). His ability to make friends brought together important people from all stages of his life and spread his interests from the East Coast to Iowa to Texas. He was well-known as a bee-keeper, military relic collector, and hunter. As he aged he lost more parts. In addition to the eye, he lost the hearing in the left ear, his left kidney and finally his right lung. He basically ran out of spare parts.

Visitation will be from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at the McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home of Bettendorf and from 2:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. on Tuesday, November23, 2010 at the Morrison Brothers in Stratford, Texas. Burial will be in Stratford, Texas. The family kindly requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge.

Those left to honor his memory are his wife of 50 years, MarySue, daughter Jimmie Sue (Dave) Ring, daughter Connie Cotton, son Steve (Bobbie) Cotton, grandchildren Andy Ring, Emily Cotton and Sam Cotton; brother Joe (Cathy) Taylor and nephew Jordan Taylor; mother Marie Terry; stepbrothers Dan Gillis and Elwood Gillis; stepsister June Bingham, sisters Pat Gillis and Vicky Lucht; numerous nieces and nephews and brothers in every way but blood Richard McMinn, Henry Harrison*, Melvin Mitts, Bill Dyess, and Dean Krueger.

He is preceded in death by his father, Reginald Cotton, his benefactors Cone and Jaunita Donelson, his mother and father-in-law, Helen and Jim Taylor, and his nephew, Erich Taylor.