Waltrip Alumni Association

Remembering Mr. Gordon Cotton

  • 06 Oct 2012 8:26 AM
    Message # 1096179
    Web Master (Administrator)

    We are sad to report that Mr. Gordon Cotton, Waltrip's first Principal, passed away on September 30, 2012 in Trinity, Texas.

    Post your comments and remembrances here for Mr.Cotton.

    Last modified: 06 Oct 2012 8:29 AM | Web Master (Administrator)
  • 06 Oct 2012 5:27 PM
    Reply # 1096441 on 1096179

    I will always remember Gordon Cotton as a man of sincerity and integrity who was concerned about the welfare of others.  We were blessed to have him as principal for Waltrip's opening year. After graduation, on the rare occassions that we ran into each other during my employment at the HISD administration building, he was always very cordial.  When I married in 1968, I sent him a wedding announcement and received a nice wedding gift with a personal note expressing his regret for being unable to attend the wedding.  That was typical of his thoughtfulness.

    Duane Kerr, '61

    Last modified: 08 Jun 2015 9:37 PM | Duane Kerr
  • 07 Oct 2012 9:36 AM
    Reply # 1096913 on 1096179

    Mr. Cotton was an exemplar for students to follow.  He was the epitome of “Truth, Honor, and Integrity”, words found on the school crest for Waltrip.  He was always cordial and went out of his way to encourage every student to be more than they thought they could be.  I will always be appreciative to him for his guidance and support.  I have included a quote from Mr. Cotton that appeared in the first yearbook of ’61 that shows his commitment to not only education, but to the human spirit.

    "Place your aims high, remembering that you can never reach beyond the point of your highest aim, but that success is the birthright of every human soul. May each of you resolve, whatever your individual aim may be, to keep your eyes ever persistently "fixed upon the mark of your high calling" and live and labor that, when you have at last come to the end of the long journey, you may look back without regret over a well-spent life and say "The end crowns the work."  Gordon Cotton - 1961

  • 11 Oct 2012 2:23 PM
    Reply # 1101198 on 1096179
    Anonymous
    "ethics - standards of right conduct or proper action, moral principles."

    Principal Gordon Cotton and Waltrip High School are so intertwined in my memory that it is impossible to think of one without the other.   Certainly, he served as a respected role model....even a father figure for many students.   How fortunate we were to benefit from the wise guidance of this true professional.

    Stanley Ruggerio (Redden)
    Class of 1962

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