Linda and Bruce Cottrell

Bruce and Linda Cottrell both were born in Hamilton Township and lived there the first sixty-three years of their lives. Linda grew up on the Hartman Farm and attended Shadeville Elementary School, a two room, grades 1-6 building at the southwest corner of Hamilton Local Schools. Bruce grew up in Green Acres and attended Obetz Elementary. Bruce and Linda graduated from Hamilton Township High School in 1956 and always had a little feud about which was better—the band or the sports teams. Bruce played football and baseball while Linda was in the band. They became a couple when Bruce asked Linda to the junior-senior prom their junior year. They were married in 1958.

Bruce and Linda’s four children are Hamilton Township graduates. Penny graduated in 1976 and Jimmie graduated a year later. Susan graduated in 1979, followed by her brother Michael in 1980. Bruce became a sheet metal worker and retired that trade in 1998. Linda worked as a secretary in the Hamilton Local Schools and South Elementary and at the high school. Linda retired in 1995.  

Both Bruce and Linda spent many years as ticket sellers for athletic events at HTHS. Bruce also volunteered and sold admissions to bingo for the Hamilton Boosters for several years.

After fifty-three years of marriage, Bruce passed away on Monday, March 28, 2011. His love for Hamilton Township never wavered. He loved his Cleveland Indians and Browns, but, most of all, he loved our Hamilton Township Rangers.