Vera Cotterell was born February 1, 1914 in Farmington, Utah. She died 11 October 2009 Escondido, San Diego, California, United States. She married Willard "Bud" Leeper.Vera Cotterell was born February 1, 1914 in Farmington, Utah. Vera's ancestors lived across the street from Joseph Smith in Nauvoo. She was active in the church her whole life. Vera was the 8th of 9 children and was the last one living in Salt Lake City. She went to the LDS Business college and was awesome at taking shorthand. These skills became important in later life.
Her brother Don went on a mission to New Zealand where his mission president was Matthew Cowley. At that time there were no direct flights back so he stopped in Hawaii. He liked it so much he decided to stay there. He invited his sister Vera to come and stay. She got a job in the secretary pool. On the way over she met Willard Leeper. They saw each other in Honolulu.
On December 7, 1941 Vera was listening to the Tabernacle Choir. During the broadcast she heard bombs bursting. This was a common occurence at the time because the military were stationed there. But on this day the radio program was interrupted to say, "We are under attack!" Dan was golfing at the time and immediately the city went into a blackout. The ships were destroyed but fortunately the carriers were at sea. If they were in the harbor that day the war might have ended differently. Vera took the first boat back home. Four years later she returned to Hawaii. Bud was working for the Army Corp Engineers even though his degree was in business. They hooked up and were married October 25, 1944 in Honolulu Hawaii.
Bill Hunter
July 20 at 9:59am: What a nice lady Aunt Vera was. One of the nicest. She is one of those I look forward to seeing again
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| Cottrell Family, Vera is second from right |
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| Cottrell Brothers 1947 |
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| Photo taken at my aunts home in Salt Lake City. Not sure of the date. Probably before we moved to Glendale in 1952 |
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| Cottrell Sisters |
