Lois Cota

Lois Cota, 88, of Watertown, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Friday, April 4, 2025, at Rainbow Hospice in Johnson Creek.

A Funeral Service for Lois will take place on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lebanon with Rev. Daniel Repp officiating. A visitation for Lois will be held on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at 11:00 a.m. at church. Burial will follow at Graceland Cemetery in Mayville with graveside military honors conducted by the Mayville American Legion Post #69.

Lois Cota was born on June 26, 1936, in Oak Park, Illinois to John and Dorothy Brown. Lois was baptized on July 26, 1936, and confirmed in the Lutheran faith on April 2, 1950. The family moved to Lake Mills and then to Kohler. Lois graduated from Kohler High School in 1954 and signed up to go into the US Air Force on July 12, 1954. She loved airplanes and thought going into the Air Force was the best way to get to be around them. She did basic training in Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas, school at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming and then served in Omaha, Nebraska as an executive secretary to General Montgomery. Lois was given an honorable discharge on July 11, 1957. Lois was a member of the Mayville American Legion Post #69. She was also a faithful member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lebanon.

Upon arrival back in Mayville where her parents were, John Brown wasn’t about to let Lois get any rest. He set up a job interview for her at Dodge Metalcraft as a secretary. It was there that she met Orville Dietrich who would become her husband in 1958. Three children were born to the marriage: Andrew in May 1959, Janet in April 1960 and Christine in March 1963. After she and Orville divorced in 1975, she worked for a local dentist and then for Dr. Mike Bachhuber until she retired in 1999. Lois met Jim Cota in 1984 and together they took many trips around Wisconsin, California, Nevada and the northwest. Together they taught Sunday School at St Paul Lutheran Church and raised money toward church projects. Jim and Lois married on April 15, 1996, and he died on May 8, 1996. Several years later she dated Ron Beilke, and he passed away in 2006. Lois suffered further loss when her daughter Janet and grandson, Daniel, were killed in a car accident in 2008, and son, Andrew, died of Lou Gehrig’s in October 2024.

In her retirement, Lois made homemade bread weekly, lots of cookies, biscotti and other treats; enjoyed getting flowers at Eberts and “playing in the dirt” in her yard; taking care of dogs; lots of long walks; working out at the Tag Center; and let’s not forget listening to the Chicago Cub’s! Eventually Lois moved to Watertown to be close to her daughter and her church. Dementia took a toll on her, but God took her home before she lost her whole memory.

Lois is survived by her daughter, Chris (Tom) Dehnert; granddaughter, Rebecca (Kevin) Doebereiner; step-grandsons, Tommy (Sarah) Dehnert and Trent (Lily) Dehnert; grandchildren Sam, Ava & Ethan Miller and Mikayla, Paxton and Charlotte Dehnert; and brothers Bill Brown and Paul (Lynette) Brown.

Lois was predeceased by husband Jim Cota, son Andrew Dietrich, daughter Janet Indermuehle, grandson Daniel Hall, sister Ruth Brown, sister-in-law Carol Brown and her parents John and Dorothy Brown.