Rich Deloy Kotter, a towering figure of intellect, spirit, and compassion, departed this life on June 5, 2025, having left behind a legacy of leadership, selfless service, and irrepressible warmth that enriched all who knew him. Born on April 4, 1953, to Cleon Kotter and Joyce Hyer in a home filled with love, high expectations, and spiritual devotion, Rich was the third-born among six sons, each of whom he cherished deeply. His brother Van Kotter preceded him in death;
Van’s beloved wife, Alice Allred, survives. Rich is also survived by his brothers Rod Kotter (wife: Melanie), Quade Kotter (wife: Ann), Dirk Kotter (wife: Valarie), and Bart Kotter (wife: Melissa).
The contours of Rich’s life were shaped early by brilliance, diligence, and a resounding sense of humor. During high school, he soared academically and played with passion on the high school football field. He flourished in the world of ideas as a debater, a pathfinder of words and logic. Rich and his close friends—an academically inclined cohort—formed the whimsical and satirical “Secret Society of the Aardvark,” a secret order devoted to their own intellectual mischief and kinship, a prelude to a lifetime of joyful seriousness.
In 1971, he enrolled at the University of Wyoming, where he both studied and played college football. But the culture of college athletics in that era—particularly the prevailing coarseness and treatment of women—troubled Rich’s keen conscience. He left the program in 1972, turning instead toward a higher calling: serving a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Helsinki Finland Mission. There, among the Northern lights and austere pines, Rich emerged as a trusted district leader, zone leader, and assistant to the mission president, laying the foundation for a lifetime of ecclesiastical leadership and spiritual mentorship.
Upon returning from his mission, Rich resumed his education at Utah State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical sciences, in 1976. During this transformative time, he married the love of his life, Ronda Lynn Briggs of Whitehall, Montana, in the Logan Utah Temple, on November 22, 1975. She would be and was his eternal companion—his partner in every endeavor and ministry. Together, they built a home full of faith, wisdom, and warmth, raising five extraordinary children: Joshua R. Kotter, Zane Kotter, Darci Kotter, Travis Kotter,
and Jared Kotter. Rich and Ronda’s legacy grew to include eleven grandsons and six granddaughters, each a bearer of their heritage of love, laughter, and light.
Rich’s early professional life saw him briefly as a high school teacher and debate coach— literally as “Mr. Kott-air” (known from the famous and celebrated 70s and 80s T.V. show, Welcome Back Kotter) in Preston, Idaho—a prelude to the impactful teaching roles that would follow him through the rest of his life. From 1983 to 1993, he worked for Digital Equipment Corporation as a commercial computer systems consultant, helping design and implement supercomputers for research institutions and universities. He was, in the words of colleagues, “a professional in every sense,” and “a guru at web marketing and design,” whose kindness and competence inspired trust. He spoke technology fluently but always translated it into the language of the non-erudite.
In 1993, Rich founded R&R Computer Services, named for Ronda and Rich. The business became a beacon of independence and ingenuity for nearly a decade, while Rich also supported clients in small business consulting and computing. From 2002 to 2018, he served as a director of philanthropies for the LDS Church, helping guide generous giving to Brigham Young University and other Church causes. Notably, he played a central role in the acquisition and
return of the historic Joseph Smith ring to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—a gesture symbolizing both legacy and faith.
Rich would later serve as Vice President of the Stella H. Oaks Foundation (2018–2019), before pivoting once again into partnership with Ronda in a health and wellness enterprise where he proudly bore the title CEO and MFO—“Master of Fun.” Regardless of where he worked, Rich remained ever engaged in consulting and mentoring others, forever generous with his insight, and forever eager to lift.

From 2016 to 2021, Rich and Ronda served as area coordinator missionaries for the BYU- Pathway Worldwide program, helping hundreds—and likely thousands—of students across the globe gain access to affordable education. Their work opened new pathways of hope for entire families, extending Rich’s already vast influence on the lives of others.
He was a deeply devout, lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His patriarchal blessing declared that he would be a “leader among leaders”—a prophecy fulfilled in every sense. In addition to his mission leadership roles, Rich served as bishop of the 7th Ward— later the Hawthorne Ward—of the Billings Montana East Stake. He served faithfully as a stake high counselor and in countless other capacities, always using his God-given talents to understand, uplift, and guide.
He was a man with the wisdom of Solomon and the warmth of a devoted shepherd, a man to whom others would entrust their burdens, their fears, their doubts, and their futures. He had the ability to help others believe again—often in themselves—and to chart for them a path forward, no matter how daunting. He was a teacher without equal, a storyteller of gripping clarity, and a leader who compelled loyalty, not through authority, but through love.
Rich was, at heart, a citizen of ideas. He cherished politics—not as sport, or for the power that came from it, but as the ongoing dialogue of humanity’s future. He and his children would huddle before presidential debates and nightly newscasts, not merely to observe but to interrogate, to understand, to learn. He had a singular interest in the Cold War and in the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event he watched with reverent joy on November 9, 1989, its symbolism profound given his own mission to Finland and his unable-to-be-fulfilled desire to serve a mission in Russia, rendered impossible due to the Cold War and Russia’s self-separation from the world’s family of nations.
His passion for education never dimmed. His love for physical books defied the digital age. He was an evangelist of lifelong learning and a passionate supporter of his children’s interests, from lacrosse to football to debate.
But it was in the small, often hilarious, familial rituals that Rich’s warmth shone brightest. When his children bemoaned the injustices of life, Rich introduced them to the infamous “Comprehensive Plan of Unfairness”—his tongue-in-cheek parody of the Church’s “Plan of Happiness,” delivered with parental mischief and wise irony. He routinely attributed inventions to imaginary men, always named Robert W. [name of invention], drawing laughter or groans depending on the child’s age. When pressed for decisions, he would only murmur “we’ll see” or “we’ll play it by ear,” much to the chagrin of his eager brood. Rich bore the grumpy streak common among Kotter men, triggered chiefly by hunger or the threat of spending money. And yet, he was unerringly generous—with time, love, wisdom,
attention, and—yes, money—when necessary. Sunday nights were sacred in the Kotter home: Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation bound the family together in stories of exploration and ethics. He loved Tolkien, Star Wars, and the timeless struggle of light against darkness, right against wrong, and love against hate.
In his death, the world has lost a man of profound brilliance, steadfast faith, and incandescent kindness. He was a husband, father, grandfather, teacher, mentor, missionary, and friend. He was a giant who stood without ostentation, a sage who spoke with simplicity, a leader who led with love. The light he carried still burns in the lives he shaped, the hearts he healed, and the truths he taught.
He is survived by his eternal companion, Ronda Lynn Kotter; by his five children and their spouses: Joshua R. Kotter (wife: Jenise Kotter), Zane Kotter (wife: Amber Kotter), Darci Kotter, Travis Kotter (wife: Melissa Kotter), and Jared Kotter (wife: Emma Kotter); and by his grandchildren: eleven grandsons and six granddaughters. He now joins his beloved parents, Cleon and Joyce, and his brother Van, in a realm of peace, love, and eternal happiness and
promise.
May his memory endure like the stars he so loved to contemplate—endlessly shining, fiercely steady, and always illuminating the way home.

There will be a visitation for Rich Kotter on Saturday, June 14, 2025 beginning at 9:30 a.m. and going until 10:45 a.m. located at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 1158 East 1240 South, Spanish Fork, Utah. Funeral services will follow at 11:00 a.m. at the same address.

The services for Rich Kotter will be streamed live. Please return to his memorial page shortly before 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 14, 2025 and click on the link below.

Rich Kotter Livestream Broadcast