Obituary of Joan Rosemond Cottrell

Joan was born to John and Rose Peterson on February 7, 1930 in St Paul, MN. Soon after, due to the Great Depression, the family moved back up to the farm near Denham, Minnesota with her four cousins who were raised by John and Rose. Her two brothers, Bob and Don, were born in the years following. Joan graduated from Willow River High school in 1948. She met the love of her life when his family moved to the farm across the road when she was 15 and Alan was 17. After being high school sweethearts, with Joan being voted “Most likely to be Mrs. Alan Cottrell” in the yearbook, they married soon after graduation on September 4, 1948. Gary Michael was born the next year, and the family decided to move to southern Minnesota for job opportunities near Blue Earth. Diane Lynn, Peggy Jean, Dean Alan, and Jane Ranae were all born while Alan worked on different farms in the area. They moved up to Saint Paul Minnesota in 1957. Joan kept the home, plus she took a job at Montgomery Wards in the catalog department filling orders. She quit working outside the home when the surprise child, Amy Kristine, was born in 1970. The family spent time camping, traveling around the U.S., singing around the piano, and get-togethers with extended families. The grandchildren started arriving as well, and Joan spent a lot of time babysitting, visiting, feeding, and loving on them. Joan also enjoyed working with the ladies in the church kitchen both at Mt Caramel Lutheran on the East Side, and First Free of Saint Paul, later in Maplewood. Joan always had fresh baked goods in the house, shared recipes with friends and neighbors, shopped for deals anywhere she could find them, and knew everyone’s birthdays no matter how distantly connected. Alan retired from the University of Minnesota in 1993, and they started to head south for the winters, first to Mission, Texas, and then to Green Valley, Arizona. They would hike, play cards, tour the state, and socialize with their many friends. Failing health forced them to return to Minnesota in 2008 and eventually sell their beloved home of 47 years in 2010. Joan would soon forget names, dates, and how to talk, but she would cry when anyone she loved would come for a visit. Her faith was strong that even at the end she could always recite the Lord’s Prayer and sing along to her favorite hymns. She will be greatly missed by her devoted and loving husband of 67 years, Alan Cottrell; and their children, Gary (Debbie) of North Branch, Diane (Gary) Johnson of Lindstrom, Peggy (Chuck) French of Alberta, Canada, Dean (Sue) of Ham Lake, Jane (Richard) Moll of New Market Virginia, Amy (Brian) Finley of Maplewood; 18 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and one and half great-great-grand-daughters; brothers, Bob and Don; and many loved nieces and nephews. Memorial Service is at 1:00 pm on Saturday, July 9, 2016 at First Evangelical Free Church, Maplewood (2696 Hazelwood St., Maplewood, 55109). Visitation is one hour prior to services. Private interment at Faith Lutheran Cemetery in Sturgeon Lake, MN on Tuesday, July 12, 2016. Memorials preferred to First Free Church or New Harmony Care Center of St Paul. After a long battle with Alzheimer's, she died at the age of 86 while resting comfortably in her bed around noon on July 2, 2016.