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Robert Ernest Cottle was born on 8 Feb 1932 in Weirton,
WV, to Ernest Milford Cottle and Frances Elizabeth Stone Cottle. Bob spent his
young childhood in Weirton and Reedy, WV, and the rest of his youth in
Parkersburg, WV, with his two older sisters, Marie and Jane. He graduated from
Parkersburg High School in 1950. An Eagle Scout, Bob always had a strong sense
of duty and responsibility. He received an appointment from Senator Matthew M.
Neely and entered the Academy on 5 Jul 1950. This appointment to West Point
enabled Bob to be the first in his family to attend college.
Bob was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery
on 4 Jun 1954 and graduated 541st in his class on 8 Jun 1954.
He served as a
lieutenant in Artillery units at Ft. Sill, OK, and then in Nuremberg, Germany.
In Germany in 1958, he met and courted Jean Frances Engeljohn, who was a teacher
in the dependent school system. They fell in love quickly and remained very much
so their whole lives. Jean was born and raised in Bloomington, IL, but her time
in Germany began her love of travel. They married on 9 Jun 1959 in Fuerth,
Germany, and their first child, Catherine Anne, was born in Nuremburg, Germany.
In 1960, Bob and Jean returned to Ft. Sill, where Bob attended
the Artillery Officers Advanced Course, followed by Guided Missile School. Their
second child, Linda Jean, was born in 1961 at Ft. Sill. Bob next commanded a
Nike Hercules Battery of the 7th Artillery Group in Thule, Greenland, 1962-63.
He returned to Ft. Sill in 1963 for duty with the staff & faculty and the
Pershing Missile program. Bob and Jean’s third child, Susan Marie, was born in
1964 at Ft. Sill. During this tour, Bob joined a task force in Germany testing
the Pershing Missile System in the Quick Reaction Alert role.
Bob graduated from the Command & General Staff› College, Ft.
Leavenworth, KS, in 1967. He then served with the Institute for Defense Analysis
and the office of the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Department of
the Army, in 1967–68. Bob received a master’s degree in economics from the
University of Maryland in 1970, and in 1970–71, he served with the 1st Cavalry
Division Artillery in Vietnam. Bob and Jean returned to Ft. Sill during 1972–74,
and Bob commanded the 3rd Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Missile Group, before
being assigned as the executive officer of the III Corps Artillery.
Bob graduated from the Air War College, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery,
AL, in 1975, and during 1975–77 served with the office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense, Manpower & Reserve Affairs. Bob retired from the Army as a
colonel in 1977, receiving a second award of the Legion of Merit at his
retirement ceremony.
Bob worked in systems analysis at Operations Research
Incorporated for several years and then as the director of the technical support
group of the General Research Corporation during 1980–89.
In 1990, Bob and Jean moved to Williamsburg, VA, and bought a
house on a golf course in Kingsmill. Bob was an avid golfer and loved living
right on the course. Both Bob and Jean were very active in volunteering and
community activities. Bob was a member of the board of directors of Patriots
Colony, a military retirement facility in Williamsburg, and he assisted in the
facility’s planning and development. In 1996, Bob served as commodore of the
Kingsmill Yacht Club, where he and Jean enjoyed good times with fellow club
members.
Perhaps the volunteer work to which he was most committed was
with the Lions Club of Williamsburg. Bob joined the Lions in 1992 and took a
leading role in their programs. He started several new activities and
fundraisers, including a bike-a-thon and a basketball tournament, and was
instrumental in establishing the club’s golf tournaments and monthly breakfast
club. To honor his service, Bob received the Melvin Jones Fellowship award. Bob
was serving as the Lions Club president when he died in January 1999.
Bob and Jean owned a beach house in the Outer Banks of North
Carolina and loved spending time there. They bought their first property in
Southern Shores in 1967. In 1977, they sold the land and purchased a house,
affectionately nicknamed by Bob as the BBC (Basic Beach Cottage). In 1995, they
built a new house, the BBC II (or Better Beach Cottage), on that lot now owned
by his daughters. Bob and Jean enjoyed many wonderful vacations in the Outer
Banks, and their children and grandchildren continue the tradition.
Bob was an avid fisherman and loved to surf fish at the Outer
Banks (even if he rarely caught anything!) and venture out on the James and York
Rivers near Williamsburg in his Boston Whaler with his son-in-law, Charlie
Ippolito.
Bob died suddenly on January 7, 1999, and was survived by his
wife Jean; their three daughters: Catherine Anne, Linda Jean, and Susan Marie;
and two grandchildren.
—Prepared by his daughters Linda & Susan,
with assistance from Bill Epling
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