ONE DAY - THIS WILL BE ALL OF US! SANDY

ONE DAY - THIS WILL BE ALL OF US! SANDY

Friendship of 3 women spans many decades, changes


Dolores Cotton of Ahwatukee, her step-sister Margie Spurrier of Ohio and friend Valetta Foster of Glendale recently sat together at Cotton's cheery patio fronting the Ahwatukee Golf Course reminiscing about their years of friendship.
It took several hours. They've been close friends since 1924, when they were about 3. They're 87 now.
When Dolores' father and Margie's mother died, the two pals who lived two doors apart became stepsisters. Valetta lived nearby.
Throughout 84 years, the women have stayed in touch, meeting every few years to recall their joys and trials, laughter and tears. All were born in Indianapolis, where they grew up and met their husbands.
"All the husbands are gone now, just us gals are left; we're still mutating," Cotton said. "I was born March 3, 1921, Margie was born July 11 and Valetta March 24 - all the same year. We went to the same elementary school and attended Arsenal Technical High School together."
A great swath of the nation's history winds through the women's lives. They recall the prosperous pre-World War II years when they couldn't imagine that anything to rival 'The Great War' could reoccur.
"My dad was a Shriner and they'd have big formal dances and we'd dress up in big, fancy dresses. We all acquired boyfriends about the same time," Cotton said.
With the advent of World War II, Cotton's education at Butler University was cut short. The war years separated the young women, who were by then married. Cotton's husband entered the Army, Foster's husband was a bomber pilot and Spurrier's husband a Marine.
"We all worked while the husbands were at war and kind of lost track of each other," Cotton said.
At war's end, Foster and her husband moved to Arizona. Cotton, her husband and infant followed. She said her old friend was there to help.
"We were so poor when we came to Arizona - they kind of bailed us out," she said. "Until about six years ago, we lived within walking distance of each other. I've known her longer than I knew my husband."
Post-war life improved for the couple, who had four more children born in Arizona.
In the '70s, Cotton and her daughter started and owned GraPhoenix, a graphics art studio that they ran "until everybody had a desktop."
Even with children, the three would get together whenever they could. Their visit early this month was spurred when Spurrier came from Ohio to visit her daughter in Wickenburg.
"Whenever you get together, it's like you were with each other yesterday. You just pick up where you left off. It's a very comfortable feeling," said Spurrier, who encourages others to maintain contact with old friends. "I believe if you don't do it when you think about it, you might not get a chance."
Cotton agreed.
"I have a lot of acquaintances but not that many friends," she said. "We've gone through a lot together. They're always there for you."