In the summer of 1951, her dad, Jess Pilkington, bought the bakery in Meeker, Colo. and moved the family from Scottsbluff, Neb. Joanne was graduated from Meeker High School in 1952.
During the Meeker Fourth of July Rodeo in 1954, she met Bailey Cotten, a local cowboy who was home on leave from service in the United States Navy. Joanne had always loved cowboys! They were married on Oct. 24, 1954, in Meeker. Together, they owned veterinary hospitals in Grand Junction, Colo., and Aspen Arbor Animal Hospital in Westminster, Colo.
Joanne was preceded in death by: her beloved husband, Bailey; her parents, Jess and Onner Pilkington; her brothers, Jerald, John and Bob; nephews David Seely and Steve Brown; niece Tammy Pilkington; and her in-laws, Ursen and Bessie Cotten.
Joanne is survived by: her two daughters, Jodi Cotten-Konsur, of Pomona, N.Y., (son-in-law Walt Konsur), and Susan Cotten, of Littleton, Colo.; her granddaughter, Stephanie Shada-Miller and her husband, Dr. Troy Miller, of Aurora, Colo.; four great-grandchildren, Chloe, Grace, Sophia and Noah; her sisters, Eva Seely of Meeker and Joyce Brown of Mesa, Ariz.; brothers Jess of Scottsbluff, Neb., Jim of Longmont, Colo., and Tom of Montrose, Colo; sisters-in-law Wanda Pilkington of Hays, Kan., Mary Pilkington of Montrose, Colo., and Sandra Pilkington of Ft. Collins, Colo.; and many nieces and nephews.
Services were held in Longmont, Colo., on Oct. 25, 2015.
Interment of ashes will take place in Highland Cemetery in Meeker at 10 a.m. on May 23, 2015. Please join us for a celebration of Joanne’s life.
