Virgina Ann (Cotey) Cota

Virginia Ann (Cotey) Cota, age 82, of Munising, died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Monday, August 5, 2025. Virg was born on January 5, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan, the second of seven children to the late Joseph and Lillian (St. Amour) Cotey. When she was young, the family moved to Munising and lived in the home her father built on Superior Street. Virg graduated from Sacred Heart School and then Wm. G. Mather High School in 1961. She married Robert “Bob” Cota and together had two sons. She was a “stay at home mom” and they lived in Wisconsin, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oklahoma before Virg returned home to Munising. She worked over thirty for the Munising News. Virg was a type setter, editor, “jack of all trades,” and instrumental in the long running success of the paper. For over twenty-seven years she was a cooperative weather observer in Munising, Michigan and preserved data as part of the nation’s Historical Climate Network. Virg measured temperature, precipitation, and snow depth and submitted the information to the local radio, television, and newspapers. In 2023, she was awarded the John Campanius Holm Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. In her younger years, she loved going to the Cotey family camp on Powell Lake, and she served as a Boy Scout Leader. She was a wonderful baker and had green thumb with her flower, strawberry, and blueberry gardens. Virginia was a lifelong member of the Alger County Historical Society. Virg was an active, dedicated, and longtime member of American Legion Auxiliary – Post 131. For years she organized the craft fair so they could put the money toward the children’s Christmas parties. She cleaned the Legion on weekends, and their Friday Fish Fry always had Virginia’s baked good. Virg enjoyed an occasional trip to the casino, cheering on the Detroit Lions, watching the birds in her bird feeders in the yard, and if you knew Virginia, you knew how much she loved her sons.

She is survived by her sons – Greg (Kaye Methot) Cota of Munising and Jon-Paul (Tara Ward) Cota of Broken Bow, OK; grandchildren – Christina Gregory, Marie Cota, Cody Cota, and Cheyenne Cota; eight great-grandchildren; brothers – Clayton “Gene” and Barb Cotey, John Cotey, Richard Cotey, and Ken Cotey; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. Virg was preceded in death by her parents, brother Joe (Linda) Cotey, and sister Annette (Clifford) Lukowski.

Graveside prayers and an American Legion Auxiliary service will be held at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Munising on Saturday, August 16, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. There will be a fellowship gathering at the American Legion following the service.