The Tragic Fate of Mr. Isom Cottingham

Every time I come across Isham "Isom" Cottingham.. a part of me weeps. It's so sad that he would attempt to take his own life, over his wife, and survive it... only to end up succumbing to it a few days later. He begged doctors to save his life. That part really cuts me. 

Even at 28, I've already lost friends to suicide. I attempted it a few times in my teenage years. I actually never thought I would make it to 28 years old. A part of me in stumbling through life, unsure of what to do or how to function properly because I never thought I'd still be here. 

Suicidal feelings are a funny thing.. and not funny ha-ha. They're very strange. 
In some aspects, especially for me and my suicidal feelings in the past.. it wasn't so much that I wanted to die or hurt those I loved by leaving them... it's just the fact you want your pain to end, your own suffering to end.. and you think you're at the bottom of a pit that you cannot climb back out of. 

If it wasn't for the cemetery group bringing out of one of the darkest times of my life, I'm not sure I'd still be here. If it wasn't for my genealogy business and giving me a sense of, "I can't die while I've got clients binders to finish," I possibly might not still be here. 

If it weren't for the friendships I've come into over the past few years, especially the relationship I have with my "adoptive" Granny Dixie.. I might not still be here. If anyone ever has these thoughts/feelings/ideations in their head... please reach out to me. I'm always here to listen. 

Isham "Isom" Cottingham was the son of Albert Gardner Cottingham and Ellen C. Liles. He was the husband of Lauretta Virginia Russell. They married on December 22nd, 1897, and had a passel of children. 

They are buried in "Boxville Odd Fellows David Rest Cemetery" in Boxville, Union County, Kentucky. 

I hope and pray Isom Cottingham went on to a better life in the heavens where he was no longer sad, or unhappy, or in any pain.