A life of service at home and abroad

Service above self.

Dr. Dan Cotner has embodied the Rotary International motto, even before becoming a member of the volunteer organization.

But his volunteer work through the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club and Westminster Presbyterian Church, in addition to serving his country, have earned Cotner the Southeast Missourian's second annual Spirit of America Award.

The award will be presented to Cotner at 8:50 tonight during Libertyfest in downtown Cape Girardeau. The Cape Girardeau Rotary Club will receive $1,000 for nominating him.

"I don't know if I'm eligible for it," Cotner said. "It's not for patriotism, but I've always tried to represent the country well when overseas."

While Cotner is modest about being worthy of the award, Denise Stewart, president of the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club, said his many commitments to serving are a model for others.

"The remarkable thing about Dr. Cotner is he is active locally, civically and globally," Stewart said. "That is the true essence of the American spirit."

Patriotism and the American spirit are important to Cotner, who twice entered the military in wartime -- first during World War II as a dental assistant for the U.S. Army and later in Korea with the U.S. Air Force.

Cotner, a Cape Girardeau native, began his military service when he joined the Army Specialized Training Program during his first year in dental school at St. Louis University. But the program disbanded while Cotner was a member, and when the United States entered World War II, he felt a duty to serve overseas.

"It would've been embarrassing for me to come home and all my friends were fighting and I'm not," Cotner said.

When he talked to the dean about leaving school and serving his country, Cotner said the dean told him that if everybody thought that way, there would be no graduates from the school.

"I told him he didn't have to worry about that because nobody else would," Cotner recalled. "So I got a letter from him saying that I could begin my second year whenever I got back, and I went and served."

During World War II, Cotner served in the Philippines but was sent home with a 50 percent disability caused by malnutrition. He soon recovered and once again was ready to serve his country during the Korean War.

"They could've drafted me because of the training program I had in college," he said. "But I didn't like the thought of that, so I volunteered."

During this conflict, Cotner served the Air Force in Libya. His family joined him during his two years of service.

His wife, Paulette, and his four children would also join him on later volunteer trips to provide dental services in foreign countries.

In 1968, Cotner made his first volunteer dental mission, driving to Guatemala. His wife and children accompanied him. Cotner said the trip helped shape his children's future.

"This is why I believe that they are all in dentistry, because of their experiences and help on that trip," he said.

Dr. Danna Cotner and Dr. Paul Cotner are dentists, and Danice Dean and Danel Burch are dental hygienists.

That family trip to Guatemala was the first of 19 volunteer missions to Third World countries.

Burch said the volunteer missions suit her father because of his desire to help others and his sense of adventure.

"He was able to go places, experience cultures and meet people he otherwise wouldn't of had the opportunity to," she said.

Sister Mary Christopher Ibegwam is one of the people Cotner met on his trips. She was in charge of the dental clinic he visited on a 1998 mission to Kenya. This August, Sister Ibegwam will be the first person from one of the refugee missions where Cotner served to visit him in Cape Girardeau.

During these visits to foreign countries, Cotner has spent 18 months out of the United States. He has only good memories and stories to tell.

"You hear about missionary workers being kidnapped overseas, but I never had anything like that," Cotner said. "The people I worked for were very appreciative, and I never had any problems or disagreements."

He did have several close encounters with problems, however.

He once worked in Pakistan for six weeks and was stopped on the road because he was an American and the two countries did not have an agreement on nuclear weaponry. During his 1998 mission in Kenya, Cotner visited the U.S. Embassy one month before it was bombed.

Musical memories

In addition to volunteering so much of his time to providing dental services in foreign countries, Cotner also has found time to make memories for local residents through music.

He has served as the organist at Westminster Presbyterian Church for 39 years and has played trombone in the Cape Girardeau Municipal Band for 63 years. He also performs with the Jerry Ford Orchestra and with the Strolling Dixieland Band.

Cotner's efforts volunteering overseas and in the community have raised the standard for those around him, Stewart said.

"We can't help but try and do better. We see his enthusiasm, energy and selflessness, and we want to be like that."

Burch said her father represents the essence of the spirit of America, whether volunteering overseas or helping in the community.

"He is very giving, a do-gooder," she said. "He is always looking out for the other guy, wanting to help them."

jwachter@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127