BERT MAXWELL COTTRELL, JR., Colonel, USAF (Ret)Colonel Bert Maxwell Cottrell, Jr., USAF (Ret) died on April 01, 2006, at his home in Blanco, TX at the age of 87 years. He was a prior resident of Austin, TX from 1961 through August 2003.Bert was born January 07, 1919, in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he spent his childhood. Bert graduated from Wiley High School in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1936. He attended the University of Illinois and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Arkansas in 1941, and a Master of Science degree in Chemistry from Georgia Tech in 1950. He did additional graduate study at Columbia University.Bert married Ernestine Smee in August 1940 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Together they had two sons; Bert Maxwell ("Max") Cottrell, III, and William ("Bill") Corinth Cottrell. This union ended in divorce.Colonel Cottrell was a Cadet Colonel of the University of Arkansas ROTC Regiment, and upon graduation in June 1941, entered active duty with the US Army at Fort leanord Wood, Missouri. He served with the Infantry, Ordnance Department, Army Air Corps, and finally the U.S. Air Force, from which he retired in 1969. During World War II, he was a B-24 pilot, and a P-38 pilot on the West Coast in the Southwest Pacific. Subsequent to World War II, he was an Air Force Research and Development Officer, an Instructor of Chemistry at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and an Admissions Counselor for the U.S. Air Force Academy.On December 13, 1947, Bert married a fellow native of Terre Haute, Indiana, Edith Carolyn Brinkman Smith, in Santa Barbara, California. A widow, she brought two daughters to this union, Carolyn Anne Smith and Sarah Jane Smith. Together, they had three children: Kenneth Jefferson, Mary Katherine, and Christina Marie. Of all seven of their children, Max, Bill and Mary followed him into military life. Following his military career, Bert and Edith worked together in insurance sales from their home office. He was later employed by the Disability Determination Division of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission, retiring from the state in March 1980.Bert held life memberships in the Austin Chamber of Commerce, the Retired Officers Association, the University of Arkansas Alumni Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.Bert was preceded in death by his parents, Bert Maxwell Cottrell, Sr. and Mayme Ogden Cottrell; his only brother Robert ("Deacon") Cottrell; his son William Corinth Cottrell; his first wife, Ernestine Smee Cottrell McReynolds, and his wife of 55 years and 4 months, Edith.He is survived by his daughters Carolyn Anne & Morse Craig (Hot Springs, AR), Sarah Jane & John McLean (Bryan, TX), Mary Katherine & Michael Redshaw (St. Leonard, MD), and Christina Marie (Tina) & Tom Gourley (Blanco, TX); sons B. Max Cottrell, III & Judy Cottrell (Houston, TX); and Kenneth Jefferson Cottrell (Austin, TX); four grandchildren (Jeff Williams, Rebecca & Raymond Melrose, Trey Thomas & Sarah Gourley, and Chris and April Gourley Fennessy); five great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be at 10:00 am Wednesday, April 5 at Crofts Funeral Home, 911 Mesquite, Blanco, TX. Thursday morning at 10:15, Bert will receive full military honors at a burial service at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, TX. Pallbearers will be Bert's sons-in-law Morse Craig and Michael Redshaw, his grandsons Jeff Williams, Trey Gourley and Christopher Fennessy, and a very dear friend and fellow Arkansas Razorback fan Ben Trotter. Honorary pallbearers will be son-in-law Tom Gourley and dear friend Don Heller.Heartfelt thanks go to John D. Weaver, MD and staff at Blanco Regional Clinic, the caregivers and nurses from Texas Healthcare Solutions who cared for Dad weekly in his home. Additionally, once again the family would like to give special thanks for Butch and Linda Crofts of Crofts Funeral Home who so lovingly prepared our Dad for his trip to heaven to join God and his beloved wife Edith. His passing occurred three years to the day after hers.