Dear Don,
It is a great saddness for me and my family that you will no longer be with us in body but you will always remain in our hearts forever.
You can to Hoboken with such enthusiun to help the "Forgotten City People". I would like to thank you for your caring and sharing of your love for us. You will be greatly missed.
P.S. If it weren't for you I would have not met Junior at that Saturday morning rehersal for Jesus Christ Superstar.....
Thank You
Love, Carol Whalen

 

My Dear Brother,
You are one of my greatest teachers. You taught me how to live and how to die. I will carry you with me in my heart and my mind all the days of my life. I am so glad I was given the gift of being your sister. I'll look for you when I lose my way. I'm still depending on you, my Brother.
Love you,
AnneMarie

 

Dear Don
It is with great sadness that we learned of your passing. You will be missed. We have very fond memories of you.
Love The Mannings

 

Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family at this sad time. We hope the memories of happy times with Don will sustain you through the coming days. Love Bobbie and Harry Knipp

 

My uncle Don was a great soul and he could put a smile on anyone's face. I am happy to see that my uncle don is at peace now with the rest of his family. Love, Chris

 

Dear Don, I am sorry to hear of your passing. You was a true friend to my family. I remember when I was younger I would go over to your house and be amazed at all the nice things you had there. And hoped one day I can live in a world that you onced lived in. Thank you for being such a dear friend. God has another angel on his side. You will be missed. Yours truly, Aaron

 

Giving thanks for Don Cotter
Friday, September 08, 2006
Letters to the Editor
The Jersey Journal

I received some sad news. A former colleague of mine, whom I intended almost every day to contact and go visit, died Aug. 22. I had not seen or heard of him for decades and only recently discovered that he had returned to a nursing home in Hudson County. His name was Don Cotter.

Many of the hundreds, if not thousands, of Hobokenites who supported the projects created by the Hoboken Environment Committee will remember Don as one of the outstanding stalwart volunteers who worked for the betterment of a city that was very different from the Hoboken we know today. As part of a city improvement plan, and as a means of getting the people to the waterfront that had been forbidden to them over 100 years, the Environment Committee created the River City Fair for two days in August of 1974 and again in 1975 on the Stevens Long Dock (the site of present-day Stevens Waterfront Park).

The fair was put on hold for five years when the Stevens dock fell into severe disrepair and there were no other waterfront sites that would permit the general public. A new site finally became available when the city took over the tax-defaulted Sixth Street Pier (now demolished). Don Cotter unselfishly and energetically volunteered to take on the task of chairing the fair subcommittee, supported by a dedicated band of helpers who developed the fair anew and ran it every year for most of the 1980s.

Don did this with imagination, decisiveness and always with kindness and concern for others. It showed through in the event themselves. Ask those who lived here then. You will find that the fairs were wonderful, even glorious events, just like going to the shore for a day, but with the marvel, Manhattan, as a backdrop as you swung your legs over the edge of the pier and watched the sun turn Manhattan into a shinning monument to life and an invigorated Hoboken.

Don Cotter gets the credit for those great days that he created for the people of this city. When he lived he received not enough of our thanks. It is a sorrow that now it is too late to bring Don back to City Hall and give him an award, or to dedicate an evening to his success with him smiling from his wheelchair. It is a matter of grief not to be able to take his hand and personally thank him. He made our lives a bit better. For now, the best I can do is bring his story to you.

 

Don, you're a man who was loved by many. A man whose heart was as big as the world, who would help anybody if you could. Don, you are a special person to me and my family. I wish you could have gotten a chance to see more and to see me do the right thing for the Melendez Family. But that's ok, 'cause I know you're looking at us from above. I just want you to know Don that we all loved you and we will always keep you in our hearts and minds. Rest in peace. Jeremy Perez

 

Uncle Donald was an Uncle who was fun and loving to all his nieces and nephews. Uncle Donald was a high-minded citizen of the world. He will be missed by all he came in contact with. Dan Downs

 

Don was a special friend. A person who was committed to the poor and worked for peace and justice. I feel very fortunate to have known and worked with Don. Patrick Ryan

 

Thinking of you on your birthday, brother. The coming of Spring is just not the same without you. Love, Anne Marie