Margaret M. “Marge” Cotton, age 87 of Fishers and formerly of Elwood, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family at home on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, after a long, full life. She was born April 6, 1936, on the family farm in Curtisville, Indiana, the sixth of eight children of Walter and Julie “Marie” (Davis) Parr. Marge was the fourth of six sisters, who were fiercely loyal to each other after the unexpected passing of their father in 1945. As their mother trained to be a beautician to support the family, the girls looked out for one another through thick and thin.
Marge was a 1955 graduate of Tipton High School before attending the Patricia Stevens Modeling School. It was at this time that her love of fashion and hats developed when her mom, her younger sister, Shirley, and Marge would make monthly journeys to downtown Indianapolis to shop for a new hat and enjoy lunch at L.S. Ayres Tea Room. Soon thereafter, she caught the attention of a Korean War veteran who was attending Wabash College. After a memorable homecoming weekend in Crawfordsville, Indiana, Elbert “Ebe” Cotton was smitten with Marge and proposed to her on Christmas in 1957. The two married on February 15, 1958 in St. John Catholic Church in Tipton, and they shared nearly 60 years of marriage before his passing in 2018.
Professionally, Marge was a licensed real estate agent and worked with her husband at their family business, Cotton Insurance and Real Estate, in Elwood from 1978 to 2002 when their business was sold. Ebe and Marge were one of the first to own a Century 21 franchise in the Indiana/Kentucky region, and there was nothing that pleased Marge more than helping a family find their dream home. She was a member of both the Anderson and Indianapolis Board of Realtors as well as a longtime member of the Elwood Country Club.
A devoted member of St. Joseph Church in Elwood, Marge was a member of the Altar and Rosary Society. In 1985, Marge was the first female in the Lafayette Diocese to serve as a member of the cemetery board of St. Joseph Catholic Church, a position she held for 38 years. Marge was undoubtedly the “Matriarch” of her large Catholic family and was known for her determination and fortitude. In recent years, she was also a member of Holy Spirit Church at Geist where she attended mass with her children.
Marge was very active in the Elwood community where she was known for her style and grace. She was fashionable, loved all things “cowgirl”, as well as country music! Most of all – she loved her family and missed her sisters who had passed before her; and she longed for the day when she would reunite with the love of her life, Ebe. Family meant everything to Marge, and she loved the role of wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother as the years passed and her family grew. The Cotton family would like to thank the nurses and caregivers of Compassus Hospice for the outstanding care and comfort they provided to Marge in her final month; their love and compassion will never be forgotten.
Marge’s family includes four (4) children, Ebe (Beth) Cotton, of Noblesville, Holly (Jack Collier) Cotton of Fishers, Tom (Akiko) Cotton of Fishers, and Jeff Cotton of Fishers; a sister, Carolyn Plake of Tipton; six (6) grandchildren, Gabriel (Kelsey) Cotton, Gretchen (Max) Kotterman, Grace (Tyler) Hammons, Forrest Cotton, Nora Cotton, and Silas Cotton; six (6) great-grandchildren, Juliette and June Cotton, Natalie Castello, Kruz, Koby and Kroix Kotterman, Lauren Cook, a special family friend and “adopted daughter”, Mary Pat Mengelt; three (3) sisters-in-law, Sandra Parr, Pat Gaither, and Karen Sue Cotton-Abernathy; and numerous nieces and nephews. Marge was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ebe Cotton; six (6) siblings, Evelyn (Harold) Gerard, Alice (John) Duffy, Bernice (Ralph) Gillam, Shirley Rohrer, Louis (Rita) Parr, and Jack Parr; three (3) brothers-in-law, Frank Rohrer, Fred Plake, and David Cotton.
A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:00 am on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at St. Joseph Church in Elwood with Father Dennis Goth officiating. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery. A visitation for family and friends will be held on Monday, July 17, 2023, from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at Copher-Fesler-May Funeral Home in Elwood where a Rosary service will be held at 7:00 pm. Memorial contributions are suggested to the St. Joseph Church Building Fund. Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.copherfeslermay.com.
