Carl "Frank" Franklin Cotten

Frank was born on April 26, 1938 in Brownsville, Texas to Carl Benton Cotten and Thelma Jane (Leeper) Cotten. In 1952, he was baptized into the Baptist faith. Frank lived his early childhood and attended grade school in Los Fresnos, Texas. He attended Harlandale High School in San Antonio, Texas. At the age of 17, he had a love for speed that led him to start racing, which continued while he served in the United States Coast Guard. Frank attended St. Mary"s University for a short time before enlisting in the United States Coast Guard on January 22, 1957. He served as a Federal Boarding Officer at the Umpqua River Life Boat Station in Winchester Bay, Oregon. He helped organize and served as Vice President of the "Cam-Rattler" Car Club in the Reedsport Oregon area, where he was known as "Tex" Cotten or the "Texan". Shortly after its formation, the club was chartered by the National Hot Rod Association and sponsored by the Reedsport Police Department. Frank was hired as General Foreman with Chromalloy American Corporation, before moving to Oklahoma and working at Wall Colmonoy when it opened. Once the General Motors Production Company opened, he started working there at the management position. Frank left General Motors to work for Matherly Mechanical as their heavy equipment operator. After moving to Oklahoma, he raced in the Sprint Car Series competing in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas with racing greats including Emmett Hahn, Harold Leep, Bill Lewis, and Bud Lindstrom. On December 19, 1986, he married Lisa Ann Horton in McLoud, Oklahoma. They were happily married for over twenty-nine years. In 1991, Frank wanted to move back to "God"s Country", as he called Texas, to be closer to his parents in their twilight years. He worked for M & M Contracting as a heavy equipment operator. While there he helped build the Alamo Dome and signed his name on the upper-most beam before it was hoisted to the top. Frank took great pride in his work. He worked for M & M Contracting for over twelve years, before retiring in 2003. Frank"s love for the outdoors and wanting to be where he could fish, hunt, and garden with the seasons made Lake Eufaula his ideal retirement location. Retirement was not really in his vocabulary, so Frank began mowing lawns for his neighbors, which grew into a one-man lawn service with twenty-five locations. His lawn service kept him busy, but he made sure to make time to enjoy fishing and have a vegetable garden every year. His joy was sharing fresh catch and vegetables with neighbors and friends. Frank was also a member of the Masonic Lodge #126 in McLoud, Oklahoma. Survivors include: his wife, Lisa Cotten, of the home; daughter, Debralynn Putman and husband, Kenny, of Norman, OK; sons: David Carlton Cotten and wife, Shanna, of Norman, OK; Jeffrey Charles Austin, of OKC, OK; granddaughters: Saphronialynn Adkins and husband, Randall, of Portland, OR; Kayla Nicole Putman, of Norman, OK; and Britani Williamson, of Norman, OK; great grandson, Orin Adkins, of Portland, OR; sister, Joy Shockey and husband, Dennis, of San Antonio, TX; brother in-law, Vernon Young, of San Antonio, TX; sister in-law, Susan Hooper and husband, Garland, of Canadian, OK; and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Carl Benton "CB" Cotten and Thelma Jane (Leeper) Cotten; sister, Arie Jane Young; and grandson, Justin Williamson.