Earl M. Cottrill Jr.

COTTRILL, Earl M. Jr., age 81 of Urbana passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 28, 2023. He was born on June 23, 1942 in Urbana, Ohio to the late Earl M. and Edith (Ropp) Cottrill Sr. In addition to his parents, Earl was preceded in death by his siblings: Peg Helterbran, Billie Cottrill, and Cindy Cottrill as well as his step-daughter, Paula Jessee.  He leaves behind his wife of 40 years, Alice (Argabright) Cottrill; daughters, Annette Griffith and Nikki (Roger) Borst; step-son, Doug (Teresa) Smith; step-daughter, Debbie Reynolds; brother, Ronald Cottrill; sister, Kathy (Terry) Goodwin; brother-in-law, Ron Helterban; grandchildren: Thera (Trevor Edwards) Poland and Leah Borst; step-grandchildren Racheal (Tony) Ferguson, Shawn (Bobbi) Jessee, Bobbie Jo Jessee, Daiman Smith, Dustin Elliott, and Kim (Bryce) Whitt as well as numerous great-grandchildren and his fur-buddy, Bruno.  Earl faithfully served his country in the United States Army National Guard. He was employed by Fox River Paper Mill for 43 years and after retirement held various jobs at Woodruff Farms and Carmae Catering.  He was a volunteer firefighter for Box 13 Fire Associates for 33 years and served as chief many of those years.  Earl was well known throughout the community, enjoyed spending time with his family, and hunting with his long-time best friend, Marty Reams.  The family would like to extend a big thank you to all of the girls at Vancrest that took such good care of Earl during his time there.  A gathering of friends and family will be held on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at Walter & Lewis Funeral Home from 5:00-7:00 p.m. with his memorial service beginning at 7:00 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made in honor of Earl to Box 13 Fire Associates. Condolences are forwarded to the family by visiting www.walterfunerals.com