Colin Leonard Lott
March 26, 1943-Sept. 7, 2014
Colin Leonard Lott, 71, died Sept. 7, 2014, at South Peninsula Hospital in Homer. A celebration of life is 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014, at the Lott residence, 55513 East End Road. Come share stories and memories.
Lott was born in Kent, England, to Robert and Lilian Lott on March 26, 1943. He graduated from Eastwood High and then went to work at a butcher shop in London. In 1964 he came to the U.S. to pursue his love of being a butcher. In 1966 he married Joanna Squillace and had three children, Kathy, Roberta and Andrew.
In 1984 he decided to keep traveling north and ended up at the end of the road in Homer, where he took a job at Proctors Grocery. In 1997, he started his business, McNeil Canyon Meats. Colin worked hard to provide exemplary customer service and was dedicated to his trade as a butcher. Everyone appreciated his expertise, from folks taking home that perfect steak for dinner to hunters coming in with hundreds of pounds of game meat for processing. He was always looking for ways to provide more products and services for his customers and was a keen businessman. He had a big heart and donated to countless charities and fundraisers.
In 2001, he married Pamela Miles and gained two step-daughters, Charlene and Danielle, and two step-grandsons, James and Thomas, and step-granddaughter Brittany.
Colin always had a twinkle in his eyes that reflected his wry sense of humor and zest for life. He loved living and working in Alaska and the challenges that came with it. Running sled dogs, cutting firewood, fishing and enjoying Kachemak Bay from the water and snowmaching with the Caribou Hills Social Club were things he enjoyed when he wasn’t hard at work.
He appreciated a tasty dinner with his wife and friends, a warm sunny beach in Mexico with a cold beer and a snifter of fine Scotch on a cold winter night next to the woodstove. When fall came around you would always find Colin watching 49’ers football. Colin was more than an employer and special friend to so many people over the years. If you were lucky enough to be one of his trusted employees or dear friends, he would give you the shirt off his back. He was always there for you when you needed him, whether it was a quick loan, place to live, a meal or some good advice. He took good care of his employees, family and friends.
His dashing good looks, English accent and gentleman’s style enchanted ladies. His strength, dry sense of humor, easy-going manner, shrewdness and skill in a game of cards or horseshoes and appreciation for fine Scotch and a good cigar won over men.
He was one of the few blessed by the realization that his life’s work was done well. Colin chose to never be compliant to an organization. How free he must have felt to live and work the way he chose. He lived and died under his own terms. Colin came out a winner in the lottery of life.
“Colin’s passing has left a big void in our daily lives and community. He will be sorely missed and life will not be the same without him in it. He was a loving and caring husband and father, dear brother, treasured friend and a darn fine human being. Honor his memory by helping someone who needs a hand and taking time to enjoy life on the Last Frontier,” his family said.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
He is survived by Pamela, his wife of 12 years; brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Jean Lott of San Diego, Calif.; children, Kathy and John Dougherty of Springfield, Ore., Roberta and Bree Cuppoletti of Wilsonville, Ore., Andrew and Sequoia Lott of Washougal, Wash.; step-daughters, Charlene Miles of Palmer and Danielle and Pat Blaine of Homer; grandchildren, Johnny, Tanner, Mike, Sean, Christopher, Lily, Cooper, and step grandchildren, James, Charmaine, Thomas and Brittany.