Cottrell, William R. 1899-1992

COTTRELL, KUMLACKY, CONLEY

Posted By: Virginia Jean Pence (email)
Date: 3/18/2005 at 18:03:19

William Roscoe Cottrell, 93,of Jacksonville, Florida, a former Prairie City resident, died Tuesday, August 4, 1992 at South Side Nursing Center in Jacksonville, Florida.

Funeral services were held at Modell Funeral Home in Darien, Illinois. Burial was in Bronswood Cemetery at Oakbrook, Illinois.

Surviviors include a son, William R. Cottrell, and a daughter, Virginia (Jean) Pence, both of Jacksonville, Florida; four grandchildren and seven grandchildren.

Mr. Cottrell was a Navy veteran of World War I, and had attended Iowa State College in Ames. He worked for Western Electric Company (now AT&T Technologies) for 39 years, until his retirement.

He was a member of the Northeast Florida Amateur Radio Society. He held one of the first amateur HAM radio licenses granted by the Federal Communications Commission, and in 1913 was one of the first names in the FCC Code book. He installed radio equipment in hospitals and taught radio to high school students. He and his students were among the first to hear the very first radio broadcast from Pittsburgh.

The son of Frank and Emma Conley Cottrell, he was born May 25, 1899 in Prairie City. He lived in Prairie City until 1923, then moved to Chicago in 1924.

He was married to Sophie Kumlacky in 1924. They lived in Hinsdale, Illinois from 1938 to 1990 when he moved to Jacksonville, Florida. ~ Prairie City News 3 September 1992

Submitted on Thu Oct 29 12:44:00 1998