cottle had a son, robert s. cottle, jr. with his first wife, the former bette volpe, a native of medford, massachusetts. in 1987, bette cottle died, and cottle remarried to his high school sweetheart, beth willis johnson. they moved to block island, rhode island, and, in 1997, to san mateo, california, where cottle died in 1999 from a stroke, aged 78.