John William Cotter

John had an impressive career in the U.S. Navy from January 12, 1962, where he served until May 11,

1966, when he was honorably transferred to the Naval Reserve until January 11, 1968. During his

service he received several commendations including one signed by President John F Kennedy for his

time on the INDEPENDENCE in the South China Sea.

After leaving the U.S. Navy, John went to work with the Boilermaker Local 363 and built an

outstanding 55 year long career of service to the industry. During that time, he worked in a

variety of areas including superintendent, construction management, design supervision, estimating

and project cost control, scheduling and maintenance.

John was a true do-it yourself guy. Whether it was fixing something around the house, building

projects from scratch, or finding creative solutions to everyday problems, he thrived on working

with his hands and figuring things out on his own. He was the person you could always count on for

help and to roll up his sleeves and get the job done. He also enjoyed sports, camping and working

with neighbors in the neighborhood Homeowners Association.

He was preceded in death by his parents Edward and Betty (Moon) Cotter and his brother Robert

“Bobby” Cotter.

John will be remembered as a loving husband, father, stepfather, grandfather and brother. John

leaves behind his wife Tina, sons John M (Amy), Chris (Jessica), grandchildren Ari, Rachel,

Sebastian, and Halynn, stepdaughters Deann Desai (Prashant) and Cheryl Weaver (Mark), grandchildren

Deven, Krista, and Addison, siblings Diane Green, Valle Cotter, and Susan Gibson.

John touched many lives. He was a man who lived with heart, grit and a lot of love. He will be

missed more than words can express.

The family invites those who shared their lives with John to provide memories by loading photos of

those memories at https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/JOHNWILLIAMCOTTER/a8a645.

A celebration of life hosted by his two sons John and Chris will be held at the Thompson Community

Center located at 1501 Caseyville Ave, Swansea IL (www.swanseail.org ) on February 1, 2025, from

1 pm to 4 pm. Those who would like to celebrate John’s life and share memories are cordially

invited.