ROCHESTER----- Donald 'Don' Cote, 71, passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 14, 2021 at home in Rochester, NH. Before his last six years in Rochester, Don was a lifelong resident of the Lakes Region.
He was born March 7, 1949, in Laconia, he was the son of the late Rock and Beatrice (Lesieur) Cote. Don graduated in 1967 from Sacred Heart High School where besides serving as an altar boy, he was a known mischief maker. He went on to attend Belknap College and NHTI before joining New England Telephone in 1970. As the founder and owner of VanWorks Car Audio in 1977, he was proudly responsible for disturbing the peace around town due to hundreds of installations of car subwoofers over the years, until he sold the business in the late 1990s.
Don had a charming and witty sense of humor, complete with an arsenal of dad jokes and puns to keep everyone laughing. He was laid back and easy going (unless you drank his last Mountain Dew), and never minded the posse of his daughter’s friends around the house and piling into his van for whatever rides were needed. In his younger years he enjoyed dirt biking, snowmobiling, boating and being a part of the “Van Club”. Don was always tinkering with something from RC planes/cars/drones, to building a brass cannon (which required some neighborly apologies when fired).
In their retirement years, Don and his wife Fran made cherished memories exploring New England on long rides, visiting lighthouses, and finding new places to walk their dog Daisy. They were avid campers, and for Don the only direction for camping was north; he never camped a night south of Laconia (or at least not on purpose).
Don is survived by his loving wife, Francine (Adrignola) Cote; a daughter, Kimberly Koch and her husband Sebastian of Amherst, NH, a stepdaughter, Aimee Dion and her husband Jerry of Dover, NH. He was Pepe to five adoring grandchildren, Juliana, Emilia, and Konrad Koch of Amherst, NH, and Lance and Joshua Dion of Dover, NH. He was “Uncle Donnie” to a pack of wonderful nephews in Springfield, MA. In addition to his parents, Don was predeceased by his two brothers Father Gerald Cote and Richard Cote, as well as his sister Lucile Lessard.
Burial services will be private in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Laconia NH.
A celebration of Don's life will be held at a later date when we can safely bring loved ones together.
For those who wish the family suggests, to please drink a Mountain Dew in Don's memory and donate to the American Cancer Society, Two Commerce Drive, Suite 110, Bedford, NH 03110.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services and 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, please visit www.wilkinsonbeane.com.