Gordon Paul Cottrell

GORDON PAUL COTTRELL

            GORDON PAUL COTTRELL OF  JANET ST, AUBURN, N.Y. DIED MAY 21ST, 2017. GORDY WAS BORN ON FEBRUARY 14TH, 1928 TO FRANK AND ANNIE “FAN” COTTRELL.   GORDY WAS SO BLESSED THAT HE WAS ABLE SPEND ALL HIS YEARS AT HOME.  AFTER BECOMING VERY SICK, HE WAS CARED FOR AT HOME FOR MANY YEARS BY HIS LOVING SON AND DAUGHTER IN-LAW LARRY AND VAL COTTRELL.  GORDY ALSO WAS SO FORTUNATE TO HAVE JESSIE PINGRYN AS HIS CARETAKER FROM STAFFKINGS. HE BECAME A DEAR FRIEND TO DAD, WE COULD NOT HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER MAN TO BE APART OF DADS LIFE. HE WILL BE DEARLY MISSED BY OUR ENTIRE FAMILY. ANOTHER VERY SPECIAL FRIEND SCOTT STEARNS ALSO SAT WITH GORDY EVERY NIGHT UNTIL HE WENT TO BED.  
           GORDY GRADUATED FROM EAST HIGH SCHOOL IN AUBURN NY AND WENT ON TO GRADUATE FROM ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND ALLIANCE COLLEGE IN CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS, PENNSYLVANIA.  
          
            GORDY ENTERED THE US ARMY IN 1950. THE NIGHT BEFORE HE WAS BEING SHIPPED OUT TO THE KOREAN WAR, HE MARRIED HIS’ SWEETY PIE” MARY ELIZABETH SHAVER ON DECEMBER 24, 1950. DURING HIS ENLISTMENT, HE ATTAINED THE RANK OF SERGEANT FIRST CLASS, OF WHICH HE WAS VERY PROUD OF UP UNTIL THE DAY HE DIED. HE ALSO EARNED MANY MEDALS FOR HIS BRAVERY AND KINDNESS TO THE MEN IN HIS TROOP. AFTER BEING HONORABLY DISCHARGED FROM THE ARMY, HE WENT ON TO WORK FOR GENERAL ELECTRIC IN SYRACUSE N.Y RETIRING AFTER ALMOST 30 YEARS.
          
          FOR APPROXIMATELY 35 YEARS GORDY COACHED AND MANAGED TEAMS IN THE CITY OF AUBURN’S “PONY LEAGUE” AND “LITTLE LEAGUE “BASEBALL. HIS INTENT WAS NOT TO WIN TROPHY’S BUT TO TEACH AUBURN’S YOUTH THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PLAYING THE GAME. IF THE CHILD SHOWED A DESIRE TO PLAY NO MATTER HOW TALENTED, GORDY ALWAYS’S MADE SURE THEY PLAYED SEVERAL INNINGS.  HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN LEGION POST 1324 FOR MANY YEARS.  DAD LOVED THE OUTDOORS AND WAS AN AVID FISHERMAN AND HUNTER.
            
            DAD WAS PREDECEASED BY HIS LOVING AND DEVOTED WIFE OF 61 YEARS, MARY ELIZABETH, SONS GORDON JR. AND INFANT SON JOHN, HIS THREE SISTERS MARY, HESTER AND EUNICE. HE WAS ALSO PREDECEASED BY HIS TWO ANGEL’S-GRANDDAUGHTERS CHELSEA COTTRELL AND AMY MARIE CZUBAT
          
             SURVIVING GORDON ARE HIS CHILDREN, LARRY AND VAL COTTRELL,TERRY COTTRELL AND SCOTT STEARNS, ROBERT AND DONNA COTTRELL , JEANETTE AND WALLACE GRAVELDING , TIMOTHY AND PATRICIA COTTRELL, PATRICK COTTRELL , CHRISTOPHER AND KELLY COTTRELL , A BROTHER IN LAW , EDWARD SZOZDA , HIS SIXTEEN GRANDCHILDREN THAT HE WAS SO PROUD OF ARE ELIZABETH, FRANKIE , JARRAD AND TODD COTTRELL, MICHAEL CZUBAT, KEVIN AND DYLAN COTTRELL, BRIAN CAPONE AND WALLACE JR ‘LITTLE WALLEY’ GREVELDING, ASHLEY, BRITTANY, AND LINDSAY COTTRELL , CODY , WESTON MAKAYALA AND mAGGIE COTTRELL. HIS FOUR GREAT GRANDCHILDREN JUSTIN MARULLO, SHY’ANNE RHODES, JAYDEN CZUBAT AND TEAGAN COTTRELL . HIS TWO NIECES AND TWO NEPHEWS ARE PATRICIA PARKER AND SARAH LAWRENCE, EDDY AND TEDDY SZOZDA. DAD ALSO HAD A VERY GOOD HUNTING AND FISHING PARTNER FOR MANY YEARS, JOHN “DUTCH” CONNOR.
            
A SPECIAL THANKS GOES OUT TO THE WEEDSPORT JR. AND SR. HIGH SCHOOL CLASS AND THERESA LEONARDI FOR HER DEDICATION IN HELPING THE STUDENTS MAKE OUR VETERANS FEEL VERY HONORED AND NOT FORGOTTEN. DADS SPRIRT WAS SO LIFTED WHEN HE RECEIVED MANY HAND WRITTEN THANK YOU NOTES BY ALL THE STUDENTS , A SPECIAL CEREMONY FOR THE VETERANS IN NOVEMBER 2016 AND A RIDE IN A CONVERTIBLE DURING THE WEEDSPORT MEMORIAL PARADE.