Enid May (Slater) Cota

Enid M. Cota, 96, passed away on February 16th, 2021 of natural causes. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Born on May 30th, 1924, in Southport, England, to William and Amelia Slater, Enid grew up in Preston, England, along with her brother and two sisters. After graduating from St. Luke's Girls School, she was employed at Gold Threadworks sewing medals for the English Navy and banners for churches. Enid told vivid stories of life in England during World War II, including having lived through war-rationing and Nazi bombing raids.

It was during the war that Enid met and fell in love with George J. Cota, an American soldier stationed in England. They were married in 1945 and traveled around England with his Army company. After the war, Enid came to America as an English war-bride, arriving in New York in April 1946, and so began life in the United States. She became friends with other war-brides, relationships that lasted throughout her lifetime. While embracing her new home in the United States, and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1950, Enid also kept her love for England, where she returned on vacation many times over the years.

After living for a short time in Tomah, Enid and George settled in Eau Claire, where they raised three children. Enid loved to go fishing with George, and eventually they built a cabin on Lake Holcombe. Enid also loved sewing and working with fabrics, and she was one of the first employees hired by Dick Larson at Northwest Fabrics. She was a floor supervisor, along with her friend Cecelia Hansen.

In 1981, after 18 years at Northwest, she began a new career in social services, working for Triniteam, the nonprofit community service program newly founded by Father Edmund Klimek and Sister Claire Marie Wick of Sacred Heart Hospital. Enid later became Director of Triniteam. Her primary duties included the coordination of volunteer services, on-site supervision of the organization's social and spiritual programs, and services to the aged and disabled in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties. She especially loved putting on "Joy Days" at area nursing homes. After retiring, Enid went to work for Larry Kleist at Bed, Bath & Drapery, where she continued to work part-time into her mid-eighties.

After George's death, Enid met another wonderful man, John Carroll. They became companions for the next 25 years. They both loved dancing, socializing, and just being together. They looked forward to attending the UW-Eau Claire Viennese Ball every year and dancing the night away. Enid gained another family in the large Carroll clan. She loved them like her own family.

Enid was well known in the community. She was a charter member of St. James the Greater Catholic Church, where she was active in church programs and enjoyed volunteering with the ladies of her church group. She was a member and one-time president of the Catholic Women's Group. She walked several miles a day, swam and exercised at the Eau Claire YMCA three days a week, belonged to a weekly organ class, and served as a poll worker. Wherever she was involved, she made lifelong friends. Friends were the fabric of her life. She loved to tell her own stories, but she was equally interested in the stories of others.

In addition to her three children, Enid had four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was amazed by their boundless energy, and she loved their homemade cards and pictures. Likewise, they adored Enid's handmade greeting cards, and they looked forward to Enid plying them with treats whenever they visited her.

Enid is survived by her two daughters, Joneen (Tom) Dexter and Sandra (Bob) Hyatt; her grandchildren, Justin Hyatt, Jason Hyatt, David (Dani) Dexter, and Ryan (Melissa) Dexter; and her great-grandchildren, Dakotah Brown, Rory and Jameson Dexter, and Lilly and Ava Dexter. She was preceded in death by her husband, George J. Cota; her son, Kevin J. Cota; her parents, William and Amelia Slater; her brother, Thomas Slater; and her sisters, Alice Tomlinson and Agnes Slater.

A Mass of Christian Burial for family and select friends will be held at St. James the Greater Catholic Church in Eau Claire, on March 5, 2021, at 11:00 a.m.

Enid loved the YMCA. Memorial gifts in her memory will support Camp Manitou Scholarships for children in need and can be sent to: YMCA, 700 Graham Ave., Eau Claire, WI 54701

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