Renae V Cottam

BRIDGE — Michael Cottam drove four hours Thursday to live out every child's worst nightmare: burying his parents. Just five days after his parents, Lola and Renae Cottam, were believed to have died from homicide, Michael drove to the South Coast to handle their burial arrangements. There was no reason to buy his father's coffin. Renae, a master craftsman most of his life, had already built the majority of his own casket. Despite his shop and house being set ablaze during the night of their alleged deaths, the coffin remained intact. "Everyone is proud of their parents, everyone thinks their dad's the best," Michael said. "They sacrificed everything for us." Renae had built customized coffins in the past for his parents. In 2008, he built a coffin for Michael's wife without being asked after finding out she had terminal ovarian cancer. Recently, he could feel the arthritis coming on and knew the opportunity to build his own resting place was dwindling, so he got to work. "I always thought bad things don't happen to good people, but evidently they do," Renae's sister Pat Peterson said. Renae and Lola met in college at San Jose State in the early '60s. Just four weeks after their first meeting, Renae popped the question and the two were married in 1962. They chose to raise their children in Canada and Renae started a career in teaching while Lola became a nurse. Renae, always the master carpenter, built their house — including the wiring, plumbing and foundation. Once their children were in college, the Cottams decided to move back to the U.S. As a teacher, Renae won chemistry teacher of the year in Oregon and stayed in touch with former students on Facebook. He was even invited to about a dozen weddings of former students. Eventually, the Cottams wanted to move to a place where they could be around nature and where Renae could build his own woodworking shop while Lola tended a garden. They found 20 acres in Bridge and fell for the secluded hideaway. "They just loved being in the middle of nature," Michael said. When the Cottams wanted to add a couple of acres to their land a couple years ago, Renae exchanged his expertise in woodworking on a neighbor's remodeling job for the extra land. That neighbor was Edward L. Nelson. Nelson is the prime suspect in the triple homicide that seemingly cost the Cottams their lives. Michael said he could not disclose the Nelson's purported motive for the killings. "My father liked him," Michael said. "You will be affected and horrified when you hear Ed's reasoning." The brutal killing of Nelson's wife, Kathleen Nelson, and two other people June 15 has rocked the quiet rural community around Bridge in southern Coos County. Though investigators believe the Cottams died in their home during the attack, the home was burned too badly to identify two bodies found there. Investigators await DNA testing to confirm their identities. Still, Michael is in mourning over his parents and better times past. Michael's 6-year-old son, Ben, clinged to his grandma after his mother passed away in 2008. Renae had built a Lamborghini-shaped bed, a treehouse and other toys for Ben, but, as Michael said, "We were all chopped liver when grandma was around." Ben's first word was "book," and they often took their grandson to check out books from the Myrtle Point Library. Renae and Lola had always said that if they ever won the lottery, they'd make sure Myrtle Point got a new library. With his parents not able to contribute to the cause anymore, Michael is asking that in lieu of donations and flowers, he'd like all proceeds to go to the Myrtle Point Library Foundation. If Michael can make that happen, he said he'll ensure it's done with the same humility his parents carried their entire lives. "They were very thoughtful and selfless," Michael said. "I don't want to rename the library ... my parents wouldn't want that." Contributor: Steven M Gibbs (47297506)