William F. "Bill" Cotton

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William F. "Bill" Cotton, Sr., (October 23, 1897--April 23, 2006) was a prominent central Louisiana businessman who acquired or built five bakeries in Alexandria, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and Monroe, Louisiana, and Natchez, Mississippi. At the time of his death at the age of 108, he was also the nation's oldest living Shriner and one of the few remaining World War I veterans in the United States.

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[edit] Education and military service

One of eight children, Cotton was born in tiny Corley in Logan County, Arkansas. He graduated from high school in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in Sebastian County, in 1917.

He then joined the U.S. Navy and served as the chief commissary steward on the USS Oklahoma off the coast of France. In November 1999, he was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest honor bestowed by France on foreign nationals. The medal recognized Cotton's valor during World War I.

After he was discharged from the Navy in 1919, Cotton enrolled at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he studied accounting for two years. He then went to work for Shipley Bakery in Fort Smith.

In 1929, Cotton wed the former Genevieve Hathorn. She died on December 11, 1963. He was married to Mae C. Compton Cotton when he died. He and his wife were known to enjoy ballroom dancing.

[edit] Cotton Brothers Bakery

In 1923, he moved to Alexandria, and, along with his brother, Herbert M. "Hub" Cotton, founded the Cotton Organization. They bought the Louisiana Baking Co. and changed the name to "Cotton Brothers." One of their products is Holsum bread, buns, and pastries. They enlarged the plant five times before building the present company facility on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria in 1951.

He was a founding member of W.E. Long Baker's Co-op in Chicago, which has the trademark on Holsum products. Cotton was also a director of Guaranty Bank and Trust Company in Alexandria.

[edit] Extensive civic leadership

A Shriner since 1927, he was a member of the El Karubah Temple in Shreveport. Cotton "was a fine man. . . . always the gentleman . . . I respected him dearly," said Ray McLaurin, a fellow Shriner from Alexandria. McLaurin said that he was most "saddened" to learn of Cotton's death. "He was very active until just recently."

Cotton was also president of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in 1942 and president of the Lions Club in 1943. He served on the Rapides Parish School Board and was a member of Governor Sam Jones' War Council, the Industry and Commerce Board, and the National Association of Manufacturers, a trade association which was founded only two years before Cotton's birth.

He founded the Better Sire Club in Alexandria in 1943. The goal of the group was to improve the bloodlines of cattle in this area.

Bill Cotton and Rife Saunders also helped to persuade Governor Jones to establish the originally two-year Louisiana State University at Alexandria. To this day, the Bill Cotton scholarship is awarded to a qualified freshman at the university.

Cotton and others persuaded then U.S. Sen. Russell B. Long, a Louisiana Democrat, to promote what is now Interstate 49 between Shreveport and Lafayette through Alexandria. In 1997, Cotton proposed that the roadway be named the "Russell Long Interstate Highway." The roadway has not been named for anyone.

When he turned 100, Cotton, a reservoir of energy, was still mowing his own yard, driving 100 miles each week to go fishing, planting pecan trees ,and walking regularly. He also held a driver's license until he was 103.

Cotton was grand marshal of the Alexandria Veterans Day parade for several years. Bud Teal of the American Legion, said that Cotton was a member of the organization for 85 years. "When he was able to get around, we'd make him the grand marshal. He was very spry. Our commander was going to give him a gift at our convention in June," Teal said.

Services were held at Cotton's church, Emmanuel Baptist Church, in downtown Alexandria, with Dr. Larry M. Taylor officiating. Burial was in Greenwood Memorial Park in Pineville.

[edit] References

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