DR. TOM COTTINGHAM

DR. TOM COTTINGHAM

William Thomas Cottingham Jr. 96 died of natural causes at Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, Georgia, on Tuesday evening, August 14, 2012. He was preceded in death by his sister Emily C. Stuart of Blacksburg, Virginia.

Tom was born in Douglas, Georgia, on March 26, 1916, the son of Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Cottingham. His father was a lifelong businessman who moved to Douglas from Madison, Florida, in 1905. His mother was Eula Newbern Cottingham, a teacher and homemaker whose pioneering grandparents had settled in the region in the 1840s. Tom was valedictorian and president of the Douglas High School class of 1933, and he graduated with honors from Duke University in 1937. After working at Duke, he completed a masters in English at Emory University, and then taught at North Georgia College. He served in the U. S. Coast Guard during World War II.

In 1946 he married Farrar Jeanne Babcock from Oklahoma, following an engagement that had been prolonged by the war. They made their home in Douglas for the next twenty years, where Tom entered business with his father and later became a teacher, registrar, and dean of students at South Georgia College. After completing the Ph.D. from Florida State University in 1966, Dr. Cottingham and the six children moved to North Carolina where he served as Dean of Instruction at Gaston College, President of Southeastern Community College, and professor at Appalachian State University. Following retirement Tom and Farrar continued to live in Boone, NC until returning to Douglas in 2010. A lifelong member of the Methodist Church, he found great satisfaction in civic engagement and community outreach. His love of literature, music, theatre, and travel enriched his life and expanded his circle of friends.

Tom is survived by wife, Farrar Cottingham, his children Rev. Bill (and Jana Nichols) Cottingham of Wilmington, NC, Sid (and Sally Cockrill) Cottingham of Douglas, GA, Virginia Cottingham of Boulder, CO, Dan (and Linda Crocker) Cottingham of Charlotte, NC, Jim (and Elizabeth Stanick) Cottingham of Douglas, GA, Frances (and Philip) Cottingham Kelly of Boulder, CO, brother-in-law Robert C. Stuart of Blacksburg, VA, 11 grandchildren, 5 greatgrandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service is planned for 2 PM Saturday, September 15, 2012, at the First United Methodist Church in Douglas, with the Reverend Sam Vernon officiating. The family will receive friends following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that gifts be made to the Missions Outreach Fund of the First United Methodist Church of Douglas, the South Georgia College Foundation, Inc., the Boone United Methodist Church, or the Hospitality House of Boone, NC. Sims Funeral Home of Douglas is in charge of arrangements.

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