Feb. 17, 1924 – Jan. 2, 2013

NATCHEZ — Services for James H. Cotten, 88, of Natchez, who died Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013, at Natchez Regional Medical Center, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Morgantown Baptist Church with the Rev. David Hodges Jr. and the Rev. Ray Holland officiating.

Burial will follow at Greenlawn Memorial Park Cemetery under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today and from noon until service time Saturday, both at the church.

Mr. Cotten was born Feb. 17, 1924, in Franklin County, the son of Otis Cotten and Rosa McManus Cotten.

Mr. Cotten was a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Army. He retired from Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company of Natchez with 37 years of service. He was a member of Westside Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon, song leader and a Sunday school teacher. He was very faithful and enjoyed sharing the message of Christ.

Mr. Cotten was an outdoor person and an avid gardener.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Juanita Cotten; two sisters, Marie Tillotson and Patsy Jones; and four brothers, Jerry, Atwood, Bernard and Gerod Cotten.

Survivors include one son, Mike Cotten and wife, Cathy, of Bremen, Ala.; three daughters, Judy Hodges and husband, David Sr., of Dumfries, Va., Pam Cotten of Natchez and Becky Tobermann and husband, Bob, of Southaven; seven grandchildren, Courtney Smith, Amy Steed, Amanda Livingston, Joann Hodges, David Hodges Jr., James Tobermann and Will Tobermann; six great-granddaughters; one great-grandson; one niece, Nancy Evans and husband, Ted, of Brookhaven, and their children, Laura Evans and Stephen Evans.

Pallbearers will be Melvin Jones, Will Tobermann, James Tobermann, David Hodges Jr., Chuck Binns and Stephen Evans.

The family extends a special thanks to his caregivers, Grace Minor and Dorothy Robinson for their special care.

Online condolences may be sent to www.lairdfh.com.