Ira Walter Cotton

Dr. Ira W. Cotton, husband, father, and brother, died from pancreatic cancer in Naples, Florida on March 6, 2026. He was 80 years old. Born to Arnold and Evelyn Cotton in New York City, NY, he earned his BA in 1967 from Brown University; his masters in 1970 from the University of Pennsylvania; and a doctorate in business administration in 1979 from The George Washington University.

He married Marcy A. Justa in 1973. They raised two children together in Rockville, Maryland until 1995, when they moved to Omaha, Nebraska. In 2013, Ira sold his snowblower and the family moved to Naples, FL.

Ira served at the National Bureau of Standards, later moving into the private sector. He worked as a business management and information technology consultant at Booze Allen Hamilton and Martin Marietta. He then held leadership roles at First Data Resources, Inc. and IBM.

Ira was an avid outdoorsman. He most loved being on the water with a fishing rod in hand. He also enjoyed stamp collecting and was a life member of the American Philatelic Society. In recent years, Ira focused this passion on fish and game stamps and licenses, authoring several handbooks and valuation guides about them. He also served more than three terms as President of the National Duck Stamp Collectors Society.

Ira is remembered as a man of integrity who had a good sense of humor. He was preceded in death by his parents and infant brother, Lawrence. He is survived by his wife Marcy; daughters Anna and Amy (Margot Friedman) Cotton; sister Candace (Michael Saft) Cotton; brother Jon Cotton; and extended family and friends. A funeral service will be at Temple Shalom, 4630 Pine Ridge Road, at 4 pm on Sunday, March 8 and via livestream. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions in Ira’s memory to Temple Shalom of Naples, FL (https://www.naplestemple.org), the Conservancy of Southwest Florida (https://conservancy.org/), Avow Hospice (https://avowcares.org/), or our walk team page for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (https://secure.pancan.org/site/TR/PurpleStride/PurpleStride?pg=team&team_id=71246&fr_id=3119).