Friday, December 29, 2023
Eulogy for Paul J Cote
An Extraordinary life
Our Dad came from humble beginnings, growing up alongside his father’s dairy in rural Massachusetts. He would ride around in his Dad’s trucks delivering milk before the dawn on icy cold mornings. He knew he wanted more in life and chose a very difficult path to break away from life at the dairy, seek out a PhD education in physics, and pursue a career in science. He rose to the heights of professional success as a research physicist discovering new materials like glassy alloys and solving engineering problems like exploding breach rings on gun tubes that threatened military service members. He continued his love of learning throughout his life and was always reading books in his free time, especially on the civil war, World War II and biographies of historical figures.
Another great passion for him was his artwork. I remember as kids, Dad sitting at family events with our cousins and drawing all of our favorite toys or animals. Through the years, he painted beautiful portraits of us kids, grandkids and of course his favorite subject, my Mom. In addition to charcoal, pastels, watercolor and oil, he even taught himself Chinese brush painting. He was a true renaissance man, pursuing interests in both science and the arts.
Above all he was a family man - devoted to my Mom since they started dating in high school. They have been inseparable ever since. Sharing a love of travel took them to Greece, Majorca, Germany, an Alaskan cruise, train trips through Canada and all across the country. I’ll never forget the car trips as kids in that stuffy station wagon, across the west to the Grand Canyon, painted desert, petrified forest and down south to the 1982 World’s Fair, civil war battlefields too numerous to count and of course Disney World.
Beyond the travel, I knew I could always count on Dad being there for us all. He was passionate about physics and his career, but you could set your clock to his arrival home every day at 5pm sharp. He always made time to support all of us kids with our studies and home work. Whether it was helping with our projects at school, merit badges in scouting, building a working radio from scrap materials in the basement, or setting up science or art projects for the grandkids, he always had time and energy for us all.
He accomplished all this despite dealing with numerous health issues throughout much of his adult life. Like all great warriors, he battled on until all hope was lost.
Finally, although we will all miss him terribly and wish he had more time to share in the joys of life, I think we can all take some solace in knowing he is at peace, without pain, without suffering and having led a truly extraordinary life.
