Barbara Lou Venable-Cotton

Barbara Lou Venable Cotton

“…abounding with deeds of kindness and charity, which she continually did.” – Acts 9:36

Barbara (Barb) Lou Venable Cotton was born the oldest of three children in Cooke County, TX, on March 27, 1936, to Samuel Lee and Lou Nelle Duffey and departed this earthly life on March 28, 2024.

Barbara accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior on November 22, 1944, and devoted her life to serving Him and others for the next eighty years. She taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School for over six decades and considered the ministry to her pastors a priority. Through the years, Barb was a faithful member of Bellevue Baptist Church in Hurst, TX, First Baptist Church in Gordon, TX, and Rock Creek Baptist Churchin Mineral Wells, TX. She was an avid supporter of Texas Baptist Men and a variety of other ministries and charitable organizations.

Apart from service to her church, she was equally dedicated to ministering to her community and friends. She graduated from Tarleton State University with a degree in nursing at the age of 54, volunteered as an EMT with Tri-City Ambulance for thirteen years and worked as an RN in orthopedics, emergency, and hospice care. She conducted almost two hundred workshops in public schools about the consequences of alcohol abuse and drunk driving. Barb also ministered to her numerous friends, new and old, with her beautiful custom greeting cards and countless acts of kindness.

She is survived by husband Lee Roy Cotton and family;daughter Karla Roberson and husband Rick; daughter Kelli Dooley and husband Michael; grandchildren: Ashlea Ranca and husband Dani (children Cora, Colin, and Canaan); Rhett Roberson (children Tyler, Reeve, and Rowen); Daniel Dooley and wife Hannah (children Kyndall and Layla); Charlsie Wright;and nephew Glenn Grigsby.

Barb was preceded in death by her parents, sister Freddie Clark, brother Larry Duffey, husband Jerry Venable, and children Victor Venable and Kendra Venable.