Early Heritage Foundation leader Angus Cotton, 90, dies
Angus Cotton, who left a mark on the tourism industry, the Heritage Classic Foundation and the Technical College of the Lowcountry, died peacefully in his sleep Sunday night at his home in Sea Pines. He was 90.
“Angus is the reason we are here today,” said Simon Fraser, chairman of the Heritage Classic Foundation that puts on the annual RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing on Hilton Head Island.
“He had the foresight for the board to put money aside in good times, and that reserve fund saved us in the year we had no title sponsor.”
Cotton was the founding treasurer of the foundation, which was created in 1987 to stage the PGA Tour tournament when corporate bankruptcies on the island almost killed it. Cotton was instrumental in obtaining local letters of credit that kept the PGA Tour from moving the tournament from Hilton Head.
Cotton came to Hilton Head in November 1980 as general manager of the Marriott oceanfront resort then under construction in Shipyard Plantation (today’s Sonesta Resort). He was instantly a community leader.
He helped the late state Rep. Harriet Keyserling of Beaufort get the state accommodations tax approved, pumping millions of dollars into the arts and tourism marketing; he co-founded Leadership Hilton Head, Sea Pines Associates and the Greater Island Committee; he led the United Way and the chamber of commerce. He was a leader at First Presbyterian Church. He and his wife, Beverly, were honored together with the Alice Glenn Doughtie Community Service Award. In 1987, he was awarded the state’s top award, the Order of the Palmetto, by Gov. Carroll Campbell.
Cotton also served on the TCL Commission for 20 years, 17 as chairman, until retiring in 2009. The main building on the TCL campus in Okatie was named the Angus Cotton Academic Center in 2011.
“He was one of these people who just always seemed to know the right answer,” said TCL board chairman Art Brown of Hilton Head. “He developed leadership skills through the Marriott Corporation that are really hard to beat.”
He was one of these people who just always seemed to know the right answer.
TCL Board Chairman Art Brown
Brown, a retired U.S. Army four-star general, said, “Angus knew when to be tough. He knew when to listen. He knew when to work it out calmly, and he most often worked it out calmly. He was a wonderful, wonderful person.”
During Cotton’s tenure at TCL, it began offering associate degrees, established a campus in Hampton, opened a new Health Sciences Building, remodeled Building 14 on the Beaufort Campus, renovated MacLean Hall in Beaufort and opened the New River Campus.
When asked the main thing he would tell future students about TCL, he said, “The main thing is that they can afford it.”
Cotton was a Midwesterner who was proud of this Scottish heritage and ability to pinch a penny. He had the ability to get along with people, and loved the role of hotelier. He was cited for bringing the hotelier’s focus on detail and customer service to TCL.
Cotton worked with the Marriott Corp. from 1963 to 1988, moving up the ranks to vice president of food and beverage, senior vice president, executive vice president and finally corporate officer of Marriott Corp. During his career, he developed, expanded, or supervised Marriott hotels in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Florida, Barbados, the Netherlands, Egypt, Kuwait and Peru.
Cotton, Bev and their three children vacationed on Hilton Head long before he came to the island to work. He took the Hilton Head post to coincide with retirement, and he remained involved in the community even when he was in a wheelchair.
He once said, “Community is us, baby. Get involved with something, somewhere.”
He is survived by his wife, Beverly Hedlund Cotton. They would have celebrated their 60th anniversary next month. Also surviving are three children, Caribe Cotton Hourigan, Angus Langdon Cotton II, who is a general manager of a Marriott in Houston, and Caneel Cotton Liebeler; and six grandchildren. All of them were on the island for Cotton’s 90th birthday in December and Beverly and Caneel were with him when he passed away.
A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church on Hilton Head later this spring, said his daughter Caneel.
This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Early Heritage Foundation leader Angus Cotton, 90, dies."