Cotter Jr. John "Jack" E., Of Charlestown, Massachusetts and Naples, Florida passed away peacefully at Mass General Hospital on October 18, 2021 at the age of 79. Jack was born in Needham, Massachusetts on March 3, 1942 to the late John and Catherine (Doran) Cotter. He graduated from Needham High School and went on to Boston College to obtain his Bachelors and Masters of Business Administration. During summers in college, he worked as a Firefighter in Needham and spent many years in the Army National Guard.
Jack was President and founder of Cotter Insurance Agency and worked with Transamerica Insurance for most of his career. He loved spending time with friends and family, traveling, throwing extravagant parties and preparing his famous Thanksgiving dinners. He had a love of photography, skiing, music, was very artistic and could fix or build anything. Jack was a member of Charles River Country Club of Newton, MA and the Moorings Country Club of Naples, FL where he loved to socialize and play golf. He will be remembered for his infectious laugh, his colorful sense of humor and his extreme generosity.
Jack is survived by his wife who he has known for 30 years, Ellen (Connolly) Cotter, his daughter Shelley (Cotter) Murphy, and his granddaughter Lily Murphy.
Brother of Mary Ellen Howarth and her husband Joseph of Ashland, Allie E. Robey and her husband Philip of Needham, Catherine C. Smith of Danville, NH and the late Nancy Cotter. Uncle of Jim Clement, John Clement, Kate Robey, Kelly Connelly and Audrey Smith.
Funeral from the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 1305 Highland Ave. Needham on Saturday, October 23, at 10:30am followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Joseph Church, Needham at 11:30am. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Visiting hours on Friday from 4-7pm in the funeral home. Interment private. In lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy may be made in Jack’s memory to The ESSCO-MGH Breast Cancer Research Fund at www.esscomghbcrf.com