Sam Tola Cotten

Mr. Sam Tola Cotten, of Ozark, died Saturday, March 3, 2012, at his residence. He was 97. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 6, 2012, at 2 p.m. from the chapel of Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home in Ozark with Chaplains Fred Fowler and Keith Butler officiating. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Memory Gardens under the direction of Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Tuesday from 1 p.m. until service time.

Sam, son of the late Charles Spencer and Tabitha Melinda Stanford Cotten, was born November 19, 1914 in Skipperville, Alabama. He was a welder on the ships during World War II on Pinto Island off the coast of Mobile. Following the war, he was a self-employed building contractor for 30 years, and retired from Alabama Aviation College in Ozark. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Johnnie Lenora Bradley Cotten, and a daughter, Judith Cotten Smith.

Mr. Cotten is survived by two daughters: Betty Linda (Larry) McCall of Ozark and Rebecca Cotten Conley of Kissimmee, Florida; special granddaughter, Angela Childree (Norman) Shlam of Ozark; sister, Marie Johnston of Montgomery; grandchildren: Dewayne (Susan) Smith Sullivanne, Bradley (Kim) Smith, Samuel Smith, William Smith, Jordan McCall, Ann Marie McCall (Daniel) Cook, Bryan (Shirley) Conley, Melissa Conley (Paul) Lindemulder, Shelly Conley, Ashley Conley, Brian (Jessica) Conley; great-grandchildren: Spencer and Matthew Sullivanne; Kayla and Ben Smith; Justin, Samantha, Miranda, and Mason Smith; Joshua, Chelsea, and Trevor Shlam; Lucien and Vivian Lindemulder; Summer Conley; Cloe and Emma Conley; Beth Conley.

Serving as pallbearers will be Mr. Cotten’s grandsons: Dewayne Sullivanne, Bradley Smith, Sam Smith, Bryan Conley, Jordan McCall; and great-grandson, Spencer Sullivanne.

Flowers will be accepted, or memorial contributions may be made to First Choice Hospice, 966 Claxton Avenue North, Elba, AL 36323; or Community Hospice, 415 James St, Ste D, Ozark, AL 36360.

Fuqua-Bankston Funeral Home in Ozark (334) 774-4551 is in charge of the arrangements. Members of the Dignity Memorial Network. Condolences may be offered at www.fuquabankston.com.