David Rex Cottle

David Rex Cottle lived nothing short of a rock and roll life. David was born to Rex and Betty Cottle on April 21st, 1963, in California. He moved to Chino Valley when he was seven. Growing up with his older sisters, nephews, and nieces, he always got into mischief. Perhaps the only time he wasn’t getting into trouble was in the Boy Scouts because his dad was his Den Mother. Loving music from a young age, he would play “Singing” with his nieces and nephews, air-strumming tennis rackets while singing together. As he grew older, he was gifted his first guitar by his father and played music with friends.

1981 was a big year for David. A few months after graduating from Prescott High School, David went to pick up a new Eagles album from Cornet. There, he met a brown-eyed girl, Elizabeth; and it was love at first sight. When they first started dating, he worked at the Plaza Bowl and was a remarkable bowler. Over the next seven years, they began to build their life together. They got married at Prescott United Methodist Church in 1988.

As a young couple, David and Elizabeth moved to Phoenix, Arizona. David picked up a camera, and the rest was history.  He was a freelance photographer nearly his whole life. Working at photo labs by day, he melded his passions for music and photography by night. He and Elizabeth started their own local music scene magazine Razor’s Edge. Together, they photographed, met, and interviewed many of the greats… and a bunch of 80s hairbands. Around this time, he and Elizabeth took to the road for road trip adventures, visiting many of the western National Parks. They loved mountain biking and whitewater rafting.

David achieved the proudest title of his life, Dad, in May 1998 when he and Elizabeth welcomed their first daughter, Sierra, into the world. They moved back to Prescott shortly after her birth. During a February blizzard in 2003, his second daughter, Shayla, was born.

David Cottle was a father figure for many, but Sierra and Shayla were lucky enough to call him Dad. He wanted the absolute best for his daughters and was involved with many aspects of their lives, from volunteering with their Girl Scout troops to photograph their performances and volleyball games to youth ministry. He took each daughter on at least one solo trip, including Catalina Island with Shayla, and took Sierra to audition for a traveling Broadway musical in Denver. The family went on countless road trips and vacations together, and he passed on his love of photography to Sierra.

In addition to being an incredible dad, he was also an accomplished business owner and respected community member. He earned the ServiceMaster Franchise of the Year Award for his pioneering work in green cleaning and franchise ownership excellence. He lobbied Congress to advocate for small businesses, ran a small business networking group, and served on nonprofit and neighborhood boards.

Six years ago, he founded Music United Against Teen Bullying and Suicide. He brought together over 100 bands in Prescott, Phoenix, and Los Angeles to raise awareness around mental health, suicide prevention, anti-bullying, and the healing power of music. Through this and his other community involvement, he helped many people, primarily teenagers and young adults, believe in themselves and navigate life’s most challenging moments.

David Cottle passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on May 11th, 2024. He is preceded in death by his parents, Betty and Rex Cottle. He is survived by his loving wife of 36 years, Elizabeth Cottle; his daughter Shayla; his daughter Sierra; and soon-to-be daughter-in-law Belle Morse; sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, and mother-in-law.

As he was the Ultimate Dad, a memorial and potluck will take place in his memory on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16th, 2024, at Goldwater Lake at 10:30 AM. For more information, please visit mykeeper.com/profile/DavidCottle. Flowers welcomed, but contributions may be made in his honor to Music United through PayPal @musicunitedaz.

Rock on, David Cottle.