Cover photo for James C. Cotting's Obituary
James C. Cotting Profile Photo
1933 James 2021

James C. Cotting

October 15, 1933 — April 8, 2021

Davenport Barrington

James C. “Jim” Cotting passed away peacefully Thursday, April 8, 2021 at home with his family at his side. He was 87.

A longtime resident of Barrington Hills, Jim was born to Edward L. and Mary W. Cotting October 15, 1933 in Winchester, Massachusetts. He was a Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude graduate of the Ohio State University. After graduation, Jim served three years active duty as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy, where his active-duty assignments included tours as an engineering officer on Destroyers and as a Naval Gunfire Liaison with the First Marine Division, and where he witnessed testing of the atom bomb.

In 1995, Jim retired as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Navistar International Corporation. Prior to Navistar, Jim held financial management positions with International Paper Company, General Foods Corp. and Ford Motor Company. He was a member of the Board of Directors of USG Corporation, ASARCO Incorporated, and Junior Achievement of Chicago. He was also a member of the Board of Governors of the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Board of Trustees of Adler Planetarium, and the Board of the Barrington School District 220. He advised a number of U.S. Presidents over the years, including Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. In 1987, Jim served as a member of a task force appointed by President Ronald Reagan and Treasury Secretary Nicolas Brady (the “Brady Commission”) to analyze contributing factors and make recommendations to prevent recurrence of the October 1987 stock market crash.

Jim was an avid golfer and member of the Montclair Golf Club and Barrington Hills Country Club, and he enjoyed traveling with his wife, Marjorie.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marjorie; his three children, Jim Jr. (Sandra), Steven, and Brenda (Dan) VandeVelde; and five grandchildren, Alisa, Michelle, Matthew, Alexander and Eric.

Visitation will be held on Monday, April 12, from 5:00pm to 8:00pm at Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory, 149 W. Main St. (Lake-Cook Rd.), Barrington, IL. Interment at Evergreen Cemetery, Barrington, IL.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association: www.alz.org or the Parkinson’s Foundation: www.parkinson.org .

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of James C. Cotting, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Monday, April 12, 2021

5:00 - 8:00 pm (Central time)

Davenport Family Funeral Home and Crematory

149 West Main Street, Barrington, IL 60010

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 1

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree