Samuel Cottrell IV

On November 20, 2015, Sam Cottrell died peacefully at home following a months-long battle with ALS. Beloved husband of Mary Shepherd Cottrell, father of Samuel Cottrell V (Courtney), Andrew Bryce Cottrell, and Brian Cottrell (deceased), grandfather of Sammy Cottrell and Clara Cottrell, brother of Susan C. Ferguson (Jim), cousin of Joan L. Weeks, brother-in-law of Richard Shepherd (Linda Wildman), uncle of Erin Shepherd Crabtree (Carlton), step-brother of Linnea Turner (Michael), Rick and Rob Ahlberg, Donna (Phil) DeMattia, step-son of Richard C. Ahlberg , and many other friends and relatives.

Born to Samuel and Elise Cottrell in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 9, 1944, Sam moved with his family from St. Louis, MO, to Hollywood, CA, to Baltimore, MD, and to Little Rock, AR. From there he attended The Hill School in Pottstown, PA and the University of Illinois, Champagne/Urbana. Following graduation he went on active duty with the Army as a lieutenant, stationed at the Pentagon at their Radford, VA location for two years in Information Technology. During that time, he met Mary Shepherd and they were married in 1968.

Following his two years in the service, Sam and Mary relocated to Arlington, VA. Sam worked in the field of information technology for Advanced Computer Techniques, manager of the Arlington location, Honeywell Federal Systems, as a vice president, and Data Network Associates, until retirement.

Sam's passion as a teenager was repairing an authentic Willy's Jeep, and rekindled his jeep interest as a grandfather, acquiring two jeeps. He joined the group of other Jeep enthusiasts, CJ2A's, and attended many of their gatherings from MD and PA to IL and the Colorado Rockies, bouncing along the gravel roads, loving every minute.

A memorial service will be held at Christ Crossman UMC, 384 N. Washington St., Falls Church, on Saturday, November 28 at 11am. Burial will be at Arlington Cemetery at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations in Sam's memory made to the ALS Association at www.als.org, designating the gift towards Research.