Obituary of Janis Claire Cotten

Janis Claire Cotten, our beloved mother, passed away on November 26, 2013, of natural causes at the age of 83. Janis' pioneering family came to Arizona in the 1870s. Janis graduated Tucson High School and attended the University of Arizona for an Associate's degree. She was the daughter of Lamar Cotten and Mary Childs Cotten of Tucson. Her love of adventure led her to work for the FBI, Hughes Aircraft, and sing country ballads with friends. Janis was a rodeo barrel racer and rodeo princess, as well as an avid skier and extraordinary tennis player. She married her college sweetheart, Roland G. Kuhel, in 1953 and had four daughters. As a young mother, Janis started a business selling homemade bread while studying nutrition and using freshly milled flour. She was a member of the Junior League of Tucson and continued her service as a sustainer until the age of 80. Janis sold real estate with Shadron Realty and Tucson Realty. Mount Lemmon played a big role in Janis' life. She hosted 4th of July parties at her cabin with guitars and singing around the campfire. Janis started and ran the Mount Lemmon Junior Forest Rangers. She helped expand the ski area for Al Grossman while active with the Saguaro Ski Club and the junior ski racing team. Later, nutrition was a natural beginning to her career as a Coordinator in Shaklee. Janis was a member of the Tucson Rotary. Her passion for life and adventure attracted young and old alike. Janis Cotten leaves behind her husband, J. Karl Meyer of Tucson; and her daughters: Diana Kuhel Osborne (John) of Tucson, Theresa Kuhel Miller (Harold) of Columbia, South Carolina, Sally Anne Kuhel of Santa Barbara, California, and Julia Kuhel McKee of Tucson, as well as their children and grandchildren. Janis is predeceased by her brother, Jerry Cotten. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Benedictine Monastery c/o the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, www.benedictinesisters.org. Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery on Friday, December 20, 2013, 3015 North Oracle, at 11:00 a.m. Celebration immediately following. Arrangements by ADAIR FUNERAL HOMES, Dodge Chapel.