John Cotti-Diaz

With family members at his side, John Cotti-Diaz passed on peacefully at the Uvalde Memorial Hospital in Uvalde, Texas, on April 12, 2014, after a long illness. He was 54.

A memorial service will be held for John at the Copperas Cove Municipal Cemetery in Copperas Cove, Texas, at 11:00 AM on Saturday, April 26. Afterwards he will be interred there alongside his parents.

John was born April 27, 1959, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to Jose Ramon Cotti-Diaz and Roswitha Anna Rausch. The fifth of their eight children, he was named after John the Baptist by his mother, in supplication after John’s month-premature and life threatening birth. Despite a precarious start, included being asthmatic for much of his childhood, John grew into a fast and outstanding teenage athlete who loved running, softball, and football. As a teenager, he listened to the radio religiously every week to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40, meticulously recording the weekly results on paper. He also became a lifelong fan of the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Dolphins professional sports teams, thrilling in their dynastic World Series and Super Bowl runs in the 70’s.

After graduating from Roosevelt Roads High School in Puerto Rico in 1976, John promoted peace and stability for our country by proudly serving in the United States Army. His Cold War tours of duty included Nuremberg in West Germany, and Naples, Italy. The Secretary of the Army honored his meritorious service with the Army Commendation Medal in 1980. John attained the rank of Specialist 5, and after extending his original four year enlistment by two years, received an Honorable Discharge in 1982. He subsequently served the People of the United States with 22 additional years of federal service, including civilian tenures with the Departments of the Air Force and Army, the Defense Finance & Accounting Service, and the Customs & Border Patrol. At the time of his passing, he was assigned as a Mission Support Specialist at the Uvalde Border Patrol Station following a recent transfer from Sector Headquarters in Del Rio.

John was a thoughtful and compassionate man who feared and worshipped God, and humbled himself to understand and follow His guidance and will. He always thought of those that others had forgotten. When you knew John, you were a stranger to Loneliness and Neglect. He loved cooking (especially for others), writing poetry, reading, listening to a wide range of music, break dancing and “moon walking,” good jokes, and long, deep conversations. He had several of his written works published, including humor in The Reader’s Digest. He loved to engage you with his mind, and to having you engage him with yours.

We could never have gotten enough of John, and we will ache for him, always. However, John was prepared and anticipated what lies beyond this life. As he often exclaimed when facing uncertainty, “I’ll be alright.”

Preceded in death by his parents, John is survived by his sister Ramona Clark, and his brothers Raymond, Joe (Cathi), Elmar (Karen), Paul (Toni), Donald (Rena), and Daniel; nieces Crystal, Stephanie, Tasha, Bridget, Megan, and Kiera; nephews Michael, Raymond, Richard, and Patryk; and several great nieces.

John’s family extends special gratitude to the highly competent and compassionate Emergency, Intensive Care, and Hospice staffs of Uvalde Memorial Hospital; his caring and incredibly supportive management and co-workers at the Del Rio and Uvalde CBP offices; Pastor Pedro Guzman and Brother Trinidad Mata of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Del Rio; and his many visitors, supportive friends, and well wishers. His family thanks all of them from the depths of their broken hearts.