Otis Dene Cogdill

Dene Cogdill, 66, of Missoula, passed away Tuesday, June 24, 2014, at his home.

He was born Nov. 29, 1947, in Butte to Otis and Nadene Cogdill. While in school, he was active in 4-H and rodeo, winning numerous championship titles. He graduated from Missoula County High School in 1965 and went on to attend classes at the University of Montana.

He married as a young man and had two children, Anne Marie and David.

He was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hike, trap, fish and hunt. In the 1970s he found his true passion – skeet shooting. He was a life member of the Missoula Trap and Skeet Club and the National Skeet Shooting Association, serving as a national director for more than 20 years. He was named to numerous All-American teams, is a member of the Montana Skeet Shooting Association Hall of Fame and the Zone 7 Skeet Shooting Association Hall of Fame. In 1992 he was the first person ever from Montana to shoot a perfect score of 400x400 and the first person to achieve that same honor at the Zone 7 Skeet Shooting Championship.

In 2002 he married the love of his life, Lynn. Together they traveled the world including all of Europe, North Africa and throughout the United States. In 2008 they went hunting in Africa for the first time. That trip was followed by two more hunting trips to Zimbabwe.

Dene was a larger-than-life personality, with a great sense of humor and a gift for storytelling. He was an avid reader of nonfiction, and an authority on war history. Since 2012 he wintered in Las Vegas.

Survivors include his wife Lynn; sister Nadene (Bob) Schieder; nieces Rachael (Tyler) Terrill, Cristin Schieder and Brylee Meisinger; in-laws Richard and Carol Meisinger; and brother in-law Rick Meisinger.

I never knew love could be so easy. No drama, just unconditional love and friendship. We have done more and lived more in 13 years than most people do in a lifetime. Words cannot express how deeply and truly I love you. You are not gone. You will live forever in my heart.

Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, June 30, at Garden City Funeral Home with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dene's honor to the Missoula Food Bank, 219 S. Third St. W., Missoula, MT 59801
Read Otis Cogdill's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.