William J. Cotton, 84, Rapid City, passed away peacefully Feb. 4, 2011 at the Fort Meade Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. He was surrounded by family and devoted VA staff that had cared for him there since 2004. Sometimes known as “Wild Bill,” “Tiger,” and “Sweet William,” he loved to call everyone “Old Buddy.” In fact, everyone was his Buddy, and Bill never met a stranger who didn’t quickly become a friend. He was raised in Lead, South Dakota where he lived until joining the Army in 1944 to serve his country from then to 1946 during WWII. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his valor as an infantryman on the front lines during the Pacific theatre battle on Okinawa, Japan. After the war, Bill went to barber school on the GI Bill. Soon after that, he returned to the Black Hills where he worked at the Homestake Gold Mine before becoming a nursing aide at the Ft. Meade Veteran’s Hospital. He married Themla Pullins of Hill City in 1953, and they lived in Sturgis a few years, Butte Montana for one year, then Rapid City for more than 45 years. Most of his post-war working days were spent on the loading docks and delivering freight for United Buckingham, later All American Freight. Immediately following marriage, however, Bill delivered Pepsi products throughout the Black Hills for a few years. The final years of his work career were spent at Landstrom’s Black Hills Gold Jewelry. Bill will always be remembered as a very hardworking man. Bill and Thelma celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary together not long before she passed away in 2004. They lived their last three years in Rapid City together at the Good Samaritan’s Echo Ridge home, an independent senior living center.Bill took great pride in being a veteran, and he was very patriotic. After the war, he continued to serve in many quiet, devoted, and meaningful ways. He was a volunteer barber for hospitalized vets at Ft. Meade, a Teamster and loyal union member, a Meals on Wheels Volunteer, and a very active member of the VFW. Bill was always on deck for VFW events and fundraisers, flipping pancakes, selling poppies, marching in parades, and ~ perhaps most proudly ~ serving as a Firing Squad Honor Guard for funerals of countless veterans. The American Red Cross and local blood banks honored Bill for donating more than 30 gallons of blood. Bill was always eager to lend a hand to other veterans during his years at the Long Term Care Unit at Ft. Meade. He often assisted those who couldn’t get around as well as he did at the time, and he was quick with a smile, a compliment or a story. He often led the way during community sing-a-longs, and he loved Bingo, Blackjack and frequent outings to special places in the Black Hills. More recently, he attended bible studies and fellowship with other veterans at Ft. Meade. To Bill, everyone there was either “Sweetheart”, “Old Buddy”, or “Tiger.” Bill’s lifetime of service began at an early age when he was an altar boy at the Episcopal Church in Lead, where he was baptized after being born on July 13, 1926 to John and Carrie Cotton. Growing up in Lead, Bill was an avid rock hound, and he loved hiking, fishing and skiing down snowy hills with homemade wooden slats. He often recalled how and he and his older brother, John, hitchhiked to Spearfish Canyon to fish ~ and how it was always much easier to get a ride home by offering up their catch of the day. He read a lot, checking out Dick Tracy and Hardy Boys Adventures books from the library at the old Homestake Recreation Center. He and his brother also worked for a nickel a week cleaning out spittoons at their father’s saloon, “Cotton’s Place.” Bill shared memories of using his five cent weekly earnings to enjoy a great western or other movie and a bag of popcorn at the theatre downtown. As a young man, Bill loved athletics: he ran track and often played baseball and softball. He also played varsity football and basketball for Lead High School before graduating from there in 1944. Some of his fondest early memories included those of his beloved Grandma “Ba” Margaret Curnow Cotton, who he said gave him and his brother a strict British, but very loving, upbringing in her Victorian home that older locals still refer to as “The Cotton House.” She called him “Billy Boy” until the day she died at age 99.More than anything else in his entire life, Bill loved his family. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and more. Over the years he took pride in his duties as “first barber” for his son, nephews and grandsons. He loved, protected and supported his family in every way he possibly could. Bill had many friends and VFW buddies, but one of his dearest and closest in later years was his brother-in-law, Jim Trenary of Rapid City. Bill was preceded in death by his beloved wife Thelma, his daughter Toni Rae Berneking, grandson Josh Cotton, and his brother John. Survivors include four other children, Deanna Aday-Keller (Christopher), Folsom, California; William (Bill) Cotton (Sharilyn), North Pole, Alaska; Candace (Candy) Garry (Dan), St. Paul, Minnesota; Connie Sue Holm (Ron), Hudson, Wisconsin; 10 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and four great-great grandchildren. He also leaves behind a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mary and Jim Trenary, Rapid City; and many nieces and nephews.