Marsha Norene Cota

MARSHA NORENE COTA Marsha Norene Cota died Saturday, August 27, 2016 after a brief battle with cancer. She was born in Bellows Falls, Vt. on October 11, 1950 to Kenneth and Helen Cota. Her early years were spent in her home town graduating from Bellows Falls Hugh School in the Class of 1968 and then attending Champlain College in Burlington, Vt. Marsha worked as a bookkeeper for several years in the Connecticut Valley of Vermont/New Hampshire before relocating to Arizona in the 1980's. Her love of the Southwest was well known to her family and friends. While in Arizona she became very knowledgeable about the culture and traditions of the Native American peoples of the Southwest and was a true friend to many. Marsha was drawn to the lore and beauty of the Four Corners Area of our country and found her true calling when she assumed a position at Mesa Verde National Park in Cortez. Her sunny disposition and vast knowledge of native culture endeared her to tourists and coworkers alike. Her years spent at Mesa Verde were a true labor of love. Though most of her adult life was spent far from her New England roots, Marsha was surrounded by a vast and loving circle of friends who became her extended family. She was always willing to share whatever she had with them and they with her. Her home was always open to welcome them in. Marsha is survived by her sister, Francelia Johnson of Kent, Ct., her brothers, Hugh Cota (Carol) of Bellows Falls, Vt., and Chris Cota (Sue) of Saxtons River, Vt., and several nieces and nephews. She will be greatly missed by her many close friends including Mary Larsen and Darlene Slade who were her caregivers during the last weeks of her life. Services and interment will be held at a later date.