Donald Cote, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather went to be with his loving Father in Heaven on Sept. 2, 2020 at Harrison Hospital in Bremerton, where he grew up.
Don was born in Thief River Falls, Minnesota to Clem and Molly Cote in August 1934. His family moved to Bremerton in 1942, during the war effort, where he went to school. He married Gail Henshaw in 1952. They had three sons, Rick, Doug and Jeff and moved to Seattle, where they divorced.
He served two years in the Army, one of which was while stationed in Korea. In 1961 he married Grace Evenhus and they have two children, Kelly and Sam.
Don was very active with his children in scouts, basketball, hockey, drill team, hiking and many camping trips, plus a family vacation every year. He was PTA co-president with Grace. He was a superintendent for a commercial contractor before he started his own company in 1969. Don and Grace bought property on Marrowstone Island in 1969, built a cabin there, and in 1988 built a permanent home on his beloved island.
Don was on the Jefferson County Planning Commission in the early 1990s. He spent many hours over several years working on the GMA and wrote many letters to The Leader editor expressing his own opinion of it all.
Don and Grace traveled all over the world and loved boating and camping in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
He is survived by Grace, his loving wife of 59 years; and three children, sons Rick and Sam and daughter Kelly; and three sisters, Sally, Patty and Mary Kay. He is also survived by nine grandchildren, Alecia, Michael, Jason, Jessica, Miles, Matthew, Nicole, Kaitlyn and Amanda; and five great-grandchildren, Jesse, Diego, Peyton, Johnny, and Hailey. He was preceded in death by two sons, Doug and Jeff, and his sister Lorraine.
Memorial services are postponed until after the pandemic is over.
