Ramona Mae Cotton

Wayne, Ohio - Ramona Mae Cotton, age 76, died on Saturday, July 14, 2012. She was born on November 16, 1935, in Phoenix, Arizona, the daughter of Dora Mae (Crawford) and Elias Jackson Edwards Williams, Sr. She was a 1953 graduate of Phoenix Union High School and a 1957 graduate of Arizona State University. Ramona was the first woman to earn a bachelorette degree in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University. Her education has guided her life through many careers and many places. Ramona lived in Wayne, Ohio, for the past ten years. She was a Controls Engineer for the "Sidewinder" missile project while working at the Navel Ordinance Test Station at China Lake, California. Ramona taught high school Math and Science while living in Missouri, moving on to teach at North Iowa Area Community College and was a Control Engineer for Northwestern States Portland Cement in Mason City, Iowa and Missouri Portland Cement in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a technical writer and illustrator for Dunbar Manufacturing in Swanton, Ohio, and formerly lived in Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Arizona, California, and different parts of Ohio. On Easter Sunday, April 1, 1956, she married Larry Grant Cotton. At the age of sixteen Ramona became a private pilot. Ramona was a member of the Episcopal Church, the Wayne Historical Society, NRA, the Lake Shore Artist Club of Ashtabula and the Harbor Artists of Conneaut. She enjoyed gardening and spending time with her pets, but most of her past time was spent on painting, first with oil and then with water colors. Ramona is preceded in death by her parents and her husband of thirty-five years, Larry Grant Cotton. Survivors include her two sons, Gregory A. (Helen Yuki Shiozawa) Cotton and Eric A. Cotton both of Madison, Ohio; her brother, whom she lived with, Elias Jackson Williams, Jr. of Wayne, Ohio; two grandchildren, Lauren Yuki Shiozawa Cotton and Brian Augustus Shiozawa Cotton both of Bellaire, Texas and two nieces, Christine A. Gammon and Dorene E. Fanady. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 4:00pm at Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service, 134 Prospect Street, Andover, Ohio with Rev. Dr. C. Thomas Jackson officiating. Calling hours will be held on Thursday, July 19th from Noon until the time of services. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203 or my.nature.org. Online guestbook available at www.baumgardnerfuneralhomes.com

Service Information

Visitation

Thursday, July 19 2012
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service of Andover
134 Prospect Street P.O. Box 1450
Andover OH 44003

Service

Thursday, July 19 2012
4:00 PM

Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service of Andover
134 Prospect Street P.O. Box 1450
Andover OH 44003