Curran Cotton, former Maytag vice president of research and development, passed away Oct. 24. During his lifetime, Cotton had a strong passion for his community and was involved in the United Way, Newton Rotary Club, OPEN and Boy Scouts of America, among other organizations.

On Thursday afternoon, about 20 friends and family members of Cotton, including his wife Jane Ann, gathered at Rotary Point in Agnes Patterson Park to plant an autumn blaze maple tree in his honor.

“This is a tribute to Curran Cotton. He’s the epitome of a great individual who erased two words from his speech and even his own dictionary, and the two words are ‘can’t’ and ‘impossible,” said John McNeer, who organized the small event. “Wow, what a guy to be that optimistic about everything.”