Funeral service Jack A. Cottrell, 92, Lawrence will be 10 AM. Wednesday at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. Burial with military honors will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery. He died Thursday, September 8, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. He was born Sept. 3, 1924 in Decatur IL, the son of Cecil and Bessie Ackerman Cottrell.
Jack was a Navy veteran of WWII and the Korean wars. He worked for IBM in Tulsa, OK; Lexington, KY; and Boulder, CO, retiring as Senior Engineer after 38 years of service.
He married Laura C. Wilson on March 30, 1951 in Tulsa. She survives of the home. They moved to Lawrence about a year ago to be close to family.
Other survivors include daughters Laurine Howard of Salvisa, KY, Paula (Bob) Hahn of Lawrence, son Doug Cottrell of Lexington, KY, grandchildren David (Aubree) and Rachel Hahn, great-grandchildren Adele and Kylee Hahn.
He will lay in state Tuesday noon to 8 PM. at the Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 7 to 8 PM.
Memorials may be made to Douglas County Visiting Nurses or Veterans Community Project in care of the funeral home, PO Box 1260, Lawrence, KS 66044. Online condolences may be sent at rumsey-yost.com.
Although Jack and I both worked for IBM and moved to Colorado from Lexington in the mid 1970s, I never worked directly for him. But I got to know him because of a shared mutual interest – bass fishing. He and I had both brought our boats with us from Ky, and it wasn’t long before he joined some of us who were making regular trips to Lake Powell, Utah. After a few trips, and as our friendship grew, we decided to become fishing partners – he would furnish the motor home and I would provide the boat. It worked great! And in the process of (sometimes) catching fish, we got to be very close. We probably made 15, 20 or more trips to Powell and other lakes. This means we spent many, many days just the two of us in the boat or the camper. I probably have heard all of his stories and jokes dozens of times, and memorized some, but it was always an enjoyable time with him. What great memories I have. And I was always awed and impressed by his love for family, and especially for his wife Cathy. He set a shining example for me in that regard. I thank God for his friendship – miss him already – and offer my sincere condolences to all his family.
Jack will always be considered one of our favorite friend & neighbor.
We always knew he was watching out for everyone in the neighborhood as well as bringing in trash bins as a kind neighbor would.
We enjoyed his many jokes, stories and his since of humor. Jack will be missed and fondly remembered.
Our condolences to Cathy, Maybe ( the beautiful dog) and the family.
God Bless….. Our love and deepest sympathy,
Randy & Tina Mally
From Ed & Carol Callahan….
The best loved uncle. We will remember all the good times we spent together in Longmont and Lawrence. We will miss you and love you forever.
The Trustees of the Ethel & Raymond Rice Foundation extend our deepest condolences to the family for their loss of a distinguished member of the “Greatest Generation”.
Cathy, All at Meadowlark who knew you and Jack are saddened at his death, but know he is now at peace. I so looked forward to our lunches and still think of your place as “Jack and Cathy’s table.” My thoughts are with you,
So sorry for your loss, want to let you know we are thinking of you all.
Aunt Catherine & Family~ When words are hard to find may the God of comfort bring you the peace that passes all understanding and the assurance of His loving presence during this time. With heartfelt sympathy.
Jack was without a doubt one of the greatest generation. He was the best boss a beginning electrical engineer could have had. We worked together on one of the last vacuum tube pieces of equipment IBM released. We were the predecessors of the solid state machines. He was patient and kind man that I have compared others to through my career. No one measured up to his level. My condolences to Cathy and the family
It will be an honor to officiate Mr. Cottrell’s funeral. It is sad to see the WWII generation pass on.
One can only imagine the advancements in technology and information management in which he was a part. Mrs. Cottrell and family, I am so very sorry for your loss.