Thomas Leonard 'Len' Cotton, born October 26, 1945, in Dardanelle, Yell County, Arkansas, to Tom and Selma Cotton, is the father of U.S. Senator Thomas Bryant 'Tom' Cotton and Sarah Cotton Patterson, an attorney and partner at Friday, Eldredge & Clark in Little Rock. He married Avis Bryant, whom he met at Arkansas Tech University. A longtime Arkansas resident, he graduated from Dardanelle High School in 1963, where he played right guard on the football team, earned an Associate of Science in agriculture from Arkansas Tech University in 1965, a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from the University of Arkansas in 1967, and a Master of Science in 1971, and was a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He served three years in the U.S. Army Infantry, including one year in Vietnam as a sergeant, earning the Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge, and later contributed to establishing the Arkansas Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Professionally, he taught high school science for one year after college, then worked for the Arkansas Department of Health for 37 years (1972–2009) as a district supervisor (district manager for Yell, Pope, Logan, and Johnson counties from 2001–2009), while helping raise his family on a small cattle farm outside Dardanelle, where he received approximately $20,000 in federal farm subsidies (1995–2012). His public service includes chairing the American Legion Arkansas Boys State Commission (since ~1999), serving as vice chairman of the Arkansas Veterans Commission (as of 2016; confirmed 2025), appointment to the Arkansas Tech University Board of Trustees in 2020 (reappointed 2025; chairman 2024), and over 30 years as public address announcer for Dardanelle High School football games (since 1988). He is a member of the Tri-County Regional Water Board, Yell County Wildlife Federation, Dardanelle Rotary Club, Dardanelle Chamber of Commerce, Dardanelle City Youth Baseball Commission, Dardanelle High School Athletic Booster Club, and a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church of Dardanelle. An avid deer hunter, he remains active in community involvement.