Obituary
William “Bill” Cotton, 79, passed away peacefully on June 18, 2023. Bill was born in Huntington, IN on 9/24/43 to Wilbur and Pauline Cotton. He graduated from Huntington High School in 1961, served in the U.S. Army from 1965-1967, and then graduated from Huntington College in 1971. Bill worked the majority of his career at Lincoln National Life Insurance in Ft. Wayne retiring as the Vice President of Underwriting in 2004. While at Huntington College, he met his wife of 53 years Eileen (Johnston) Cotton from Ft. Erie, Ontario. They were married April 3, 1971, and have two sons, Ryan (Ali) of Brownsburg, IN, and Tyler (Cassie) of Huntington, IN. Bill is the proud grandfather of six grandchildren: Bryce, Sydney, Caeden, Dawson, Carter, and Mya. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, brother Donald, sister Sondra, half-brother Rich, and a daughter Allison. Bill was a man of faith and served his church community at Emmanuel Community Church for years. He was a strong, proud, gentle, and loving man with his faith serving as a foundation in his family. Bill was a fighter beating cancer twice in his last decade. But his most passionate fight was at Rock Steady Boxing fighting his Parkinson’s disease. He was a regular attendee at Rock Steady Boxing at Lutheran Life Village and was forever grateful for his coaches and fellow boxers. A service and reception will be held at The Branch location of Emmanuel Community Church (7227 Bittersweet Moors Drive, Ft. Wayne, IN 46814, just to the East on US 24 of the main church campus) on Sunday 6/25/23. There will be a funeral service from 1:00-1:45 with a visitation and reception following immediately from 2:00-3:00. Dress for the service and reception is casual. Memorial contributions may be made to: Rock Steady Boxing, Inc. located at 6847 Hillsdale Court, Indianapolis, IN 46250. Online donations may be made to www.RockSteadyBoxing.org/donate OR Emmanuel Community Church at 12222 US Hwy 24 W, Fort Wayne, IN, 46814