Gordon Tonks Cottrell's Obituary
Gordon Cottrell, son of Ila and Binden, was born kicking and screaming, in Kaysville, Utah, in 1945. He left the world in much the same way, on November 26th, 2022, after a long battle with heart disease. In between, he lived a roller coaster. He moved from Kaysville to the Navajo Nation, Provo to Las Vegas, a brief stop in Potato Land, Salt Lake to Winnemucca, and finally back to Salt Lake.
At various times Gordon was a Mormon Bishop, a secular humanist, agnostic, and occasional existentialist. For reasons nobody understands, he loved William Faulkner. For reasons everybody understands, he loved his wife, Cindy. They met in 1992 and were immediately inseparable.
Gordon leaves behind many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, with whom he shared a love of knowledge. He had degrees from BYU and Weber State and used them to own and operate a fast-food restaurant, children’s clothing store, video game arcade, flip burgers, and manage a Fred Meyer store. Finally, he listened to everybody who knew him, and began a lengthy career teaching. He loved it and was good at it.
What Gordon loved most in life was spending time in the Uinta Mountains with whomever he could drag along. Backpacking, dayhiking, fishing, picnics, rain, sleet, mud, lightning, blisters and muck, he loved it all. He could catch fish in a puddle, and simply refused to have bad days in the mountains. As his health deteriorated, he lived in his stories and treasured memories. Now he lives forever in ours.
What’s your fondest memory of Gordon?
What’s a lesson you learned from Gordon?
Share a story where Gordon's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Gordon you’ll never forget.
How did Gordon make you smile?