Mary Josephine Cottrell

Mary Josephine Cottrell was born on October 29th, 1983 in San Luis Obispo, CA. She grew up in Grover Beach. She loved the ocean, animals and her friends, which were many. She moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota and became involved in her youth group and played for worship, particularly on the guitar, although she also played saxophone, flute and sang. She worked as a camp counselor, ministered on the rez, and took a memorable trip white water rafting and mountain biking in Colorado. She was very gifted musically, and recorded an album while at the University of Sioux Falls where she attended for theology/philosophy. She then transferred to Belmont University in Nashville, TN and earned her Bachelor of Science in ministry. She began painting more seriously at this time. Mary Jo moved to Oklahoma City and worked with the healing and deliverance team at Church on the Rock under her spiritual mom and dad doctors Pat and Ronal Dee Legako, as well as working with the prophetic and worship teams. She had a gift for seeing into people’s hearts and knowing how to heal them. She was full of wisdom, compassion, dedication to the Truth, adventure and fun! You rarely left an encounter with Mary Jo without laughing, although she was deep, as well. Mary Jo raised her Flat Coat Retriever/English Springer Boogie during this time and lived with her best friend and adopted big “sister” Joy Adams. They were a great team helping people and each other and were life-long family to each other. Mary moved to Vancouver, WA where she worked with a wonderful team at BowFlex and visited her much-loved ocean. She raised her Australian Shepherd, Koa, who she loved dearly. Mary loved oceanography, weather, art, ministry, music and making gifts for people. She worked in finance and database analysis. She loved and accepted people and helped them grow everywhere she went. She will be dearly missed, and the world is a better place because she offered pure love. She died peacefully in her sleep on January 10th, 2026 at 42 years old, leaning into Yeshua’s arms after a courageous battle against alveolar soft part sarcoma, outliving all expectations. She LIVED!