Phyllis Jean (Barndt) Cotton

Phyllis Jean Cotton, age 94, of Navarre, passed away peacefully at the Inn at University Village on September 21, 2019. The eldest of five children, Phyllis was born September 30, 1924, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to the late Harry and Florence Barndt. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Donald G. Cotton, DDS; her sister,Vivian (Barndt) Anderson and brothers, John and Edwin Barndt.

Phyllis is survived by her children and their spouses: Susan (Bill) Eynon of Mebane, North Carolina; Nancy (Don) Berkey and Tim (Margaret) Cotton, all of Navarre; grandchildren, Don and Rachel Berkey, Bill Eynon III, Vicki (Berkey) and Dale Lower and great-grand-daughter, Oliva Lee; Bethan Eynon and Jonathan Crawford, David and Nikki Cotton and Anne (Cotton) and Brian Shultz; and her brother, Charles Barndt, of Wayne, Ohio.

 Moving from Cleveland, Ohio, Phyllis accompanied her husband to Navarre in 1951. Doc, as he was known to many, was the first full-time dentist in that community. At that time, Phyllis began her active participation in her new home. Over the last 68 years, she was a devoted leader and servant of Navarre and other local areas. Among other groups and activities, she was: President and State Recording Secretary of the Child Conservation League (CCL); Charter Member and the first Vice-President of the Navarre Garden Club; the first female member of the Navarre Kiwanis Club; a long-standing member of the Massillon Woman’s Club; past-president of the Navarre PTA; a regular volunteer with the Fairless Food Cupboard; a member of Soroptimist International of the Americas, Inc., supporting education and economic empowerment for women and girls; and the founder of the Stark County Office of Personnel in Education (SCOPE), a group that supports school secretaries.

 Phyllis’s family thanks the staff of the Inn at University Village and Crossroads Hospice for their care and kindness for our mother.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 25, 2019, at Fohl Memorial United Methodist Church in Navarre.  Pastor Carl Kandel and Rev. Paul Gerycz will officiate and burial will follow at East Union Lawn Cemetery.  The family will receive condolences Tuesday evening, September 24, from 6-8:00 p.m. at Atkinson Feucht Hare Funeral Home in Navarre.  The family has also suggested memorial contributions to advance the mission and ministry of Fohl Memorial UMC or the Fairless Food Cupboard.  

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