David G. Cotts

1937 - 2023

Cotts

David G. Cotts (Age 86)

David George Cotts (born June 4, 1937), died peacefully at his residence in The Fairfax at Belvoir Woods, Fort Belvoir, Virginia on Sunday, July 23, 2023, surrounded by family and love.



Born in Menomonie, Wisconsin, the younger of two children of Don Cotts and Henrietta Brandt Cotts, Dave was reared with the small-town values that would guide him throughout his life--integrity, modesty, hard work, and service to others.



He attended Menomonie High School, where he was recognized with the Alumni Award as the top overall student in his class--a distinction he shared with his beloved older sister, Charlotte. Dave was also active in the Boy Scouts, in which he attained the rank of Eagle Scout.



Dave received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1959, commencing a 22-year career in the Army Corps of Engineers that took him around the world, including two combat tours in the Republic of Vietnam and command of the "Black Lions" of the 249th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy), headquartered in Karlsruhe, West Germany.



In 1961, while assigned as a masters degree student at Iowa State University, Dave met the love of his life, Linda Carol Willard. Linda and Dave were perfectly matched. They shared a love of sports and the arts, a commitment to life-long learning, and most important, the small-town values that had shaped their lives. They had three children: Chris, Eric, and Liza.



In 1981, Dave retired from the Army, having attained the rank of Colonel, and he immediately began a second career as the Chief of Facilities Management for The World Bank in Washington, DC.



During the next 17 years, Dave became one of the most well-known and influential leaders in the facilities management field. He was a founding member of the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA), served as IFMA president, and wrote and taught extensively.



Following his second retirement, Dave's and Linda's most satisfying activities--by a wide margin--centered around being grandparents. No "Grandma and Papa" have ever adored their grandchildren more than Dave and Linda loved their five wonderful grandkids.



Dave was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Henrietta, and his wife, Linda. He is survived by his sister, Charlotte Kohanek, of Menomonie, Wisconsin; his children, Chris Cotts of Alexandria, Virginia, Eric (Lisa) Cotts of San Diego, California, and Liza (Tim) Eller of Springfield, Virginia; and his grandchildren Stephen Eller, Brendan Cotts, Lauren Eller, Meaghan Cotts, and Alaina Cotts. Dave also maintained a close relationship with Andreas Cocq of Hamburg, Germany, who stayed with the Cotts family as an exchange student in the early 1980s.



Dave and Linda will be interred together at Arlington National Cemetery on a date yet to be determined.



Should friends desire, the family suggests that contributions be directed to the Alzheimer's Association, 225 North Michigan Ave, FL. 17, Chicago IL 60601.



Please view and sign the family guestbook online at

www.jeffersonfuneralchapel.com