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THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO My Dad
Richard Lewis Cotton, 83, gently passed away in peace at his home, Tuesday, April 17, 2007. Mr. Cotton was class president and valedictorian of his High School. At the age of 16, he entered UNC-CH, where as a Sigma Chi, he earned his MBA. He served his country with honors in WW II. His lifelong career as an executive with GMAC was followed by an advisory position at Meredith College. In retirement, he owned and operated the cafe and smoothie bar at the Northridge Spa Health Club. Among his memberships were North Hills Club, North Ridge Country Club, Fun Golfers League, Civitans, Fairmont and St. Mark's Methodist and White Memorial Church. He helped and was loved by many people from diverse backgrounds. In his final days, his approach to overcome despair was awe-inspiring to every witness. His legacy will remain,
Our family thanks all of you who have expressed support and love during this time. As there have been numerous requests for copies of the prayer I wrote and delivered during the graveside service, I am posting it here. We are encouraged by your love. Cotton
Dear God, our Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day. Thank you for the love that gathers us here. We are grateful that in you, we have life as you purposed for us, and that what we interpret as the end of life is really our glorious homecoming, where we are welcomed by your angels and saints who have preceded us. Knowing this, we do not say goodbye. We prayerfully say “Godspeed” to father, grandfather and friend, Richard Lewis Cotton. Here this day, we commit a box to the ground. This box holds nothing but a temporary vessel.
Richard Lewis Cotton is among the angels.
Father, show us how to trust you to provide our way from this place.
In you we find complete peace, joy and deliverance from the multitude of disappointments derived from living in a fallen world. We need and seek your grace for all the times we grant ourselves permission to question and doubt your perfect design, consequently casting shadows on our faith.
We take comfort in the knowledge that Lew’s suffering is over. We celebrate his vigilance to live and appreciate all things, even during the waning days when his ability to care for himself was reduced to the often limited provision of others. We know that his patience, kindness, wisdom and strength during this time were born of his unwavering Christian faith and devotion to you in all things.
We grieve his departure from our midst, asking that in your Grace you comfort each of us as we search to find peace with what we do not understand. Help us to trust that you will faithfully quiet our unanswered questions with your serenity, filling this new silence with your Love.
Transform our feelings of loss and despair into a greater love for others. We ask for your help in sustaining that love, as we are often poised to take offense from words and actions of those we love the most. We ask that you block from our hearts and minds the enemies of our Peace which are fear, confusion and hopelessness.
We need always to realize our powerlessness without your provision. In our frailty, we so readily question your plan for us. Please transform this grief within our hearts into a greater trust that we will be joyfully reunited in Heaven.
Heavenly Father, thank you for Life, for Love, for the morning when we rise, and for the evening when we must set aside all our endeavors and be still.
We thank you for the life of Lewis Cotton and for the precious time we shared with him. We thank you for what we learned from his example: integrity, acceptance and courage. We thank you for the unique way he embraced his successes along with his limitations. We thank you for enabling us to support him comfortably during his final days. We were blessed by his frequent expressions of delight to those of us providing him even the smallest assistance. He continued to enjoy, and he never complained. We witnessed as he vigilantly celebrated the smallest successes. Lord, help us to adhere to this courageous model when our best plans are thwarted.
We thank you for our Families. Bless those from whom we are awkwardly distanced, and we ask that in your grace, you reunite our hearts from this day forward, in love. Help us to love others as Jesus commanded.
We thank you for how you are with us and will soon transform our darkest hours.
We thank you for showing us wisdom when we finally surrender our disappointment
We thank you that we are able to find rest in you when we become weary. We thank you that our power in all matters is accessible when we cease from our striving, and pray to you.
We thank you for taking delight in us when no one else seems to.
We ask you to show us how to be grateful for all our days.
We thank you for comforting us in our grief. And as we must now adjust and go forward, we ask that you help us to do so faithfully, and with lightness of heart, and with Heavenward Hope.
And even when our Earthly bodies begin to fail us, or succumb to disease and death; when we lose the loved ones whose nearness provided us with security, when fear overtakes us, we thank you that our answers, all our comfort and our hope of the life to come abide in you.
Bind our hearts and minds so that as we proceed from this place, in understanding your eternal loving presence, we will be moved to desire a more vigilant pursuit of entrusting all that we are and all that we have to You.
Help us to understand that even when you do not calm the storm, you steady the rigging of our vessel. Help us to be grateful in all things.
Dear God, help us to glorify you with the whole of our days to come.
Dear God, Thank you for my Dad.
In the name of our Precious Savior Jesus Christ, Amen
