John "Harp" Cote

1923 - 2023

John "Harp" Cote

October 26, 1923 - April 6, 2023

John "Harp" Cote passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2023, at his residence. By nearly any measure, Harp Cote was a truly great man. He was a great family man, husband and father, grandfather, uncle, and son. He was a great friend and mentor, great businessman and community leader. He was a great human being.

John Samuel Cote was born on October 26, 1923, to Anna Walsh Cote and Zamri "Sam" Cote in a small house in the "Cabbage Patch" neighborhood of Butte, Montana. The Cabbage Patch was a ramshackle collection of miner shacks and shanties on the eastern edge of uptown Butte. Like many folks at the time, his early years were spent in a tiny home inhabited by multiple generations of family.

Harp's mother, Anna was of Irish decent, his father, Sam's family was French Canadian. Sam was a handsome, fun-loving man. Everyone loved Sam. He was a jeweler, a jockey, a bootlegger, and a professional gambler. He was street smart and wise. He had many sayings that Harp often quoted such as "If you're gonna go, go first class, and "If you're gonna be a sucker, be a quiet one". Harp learned a lot of his worldliness and humor from his father, Sam. He also experienced the unequivocal love of a father.

Anna was a mother to all. She raised Harp and his sister, Ann with every ounce of love she had, which was a lot. She worked her fingers to the bone her whole life to try to provide a better life for "Pets" and "Jack", as her children were known in the family. She also gifted them with a strong Faith. Along the way, she mothered lots of other folks. It was a rare supper table that didn't include a few "strays"; relatives, neighbors, Gandy dancers from the railroad, transients, or people down on their luck. From his mother, Harp learned empathy and compassion and the drive to work for his family and community.

After a few years in the Cabbage Patch, the family was able to rent their own home, a duplex on West Broadway Street. It was here that he started school and met many of his lifelong friends. It is also where he received his nickname, Harp. As the story goes, he was hanging out on the street with his friends wearing bib overhauls, a cap, and a face full of freckles. He must have looked like he just got off the boat from Ireland. An older boy from the neighborhood passed by and asked, "And who is this young Harp?"

Harp graduated with the Class of 1942 from Boys Central High School. The war was on and like so many of his friends and countrymen was called to service. He enlisted in the Navy and spent the war in the Pacific on the USS San Juan where he participated in many of the major battles on the way to the war's end.

Harp was in many ways his father's son. He was a skilled card player and while on board ship, won and stashed a small stake. Upon mustering out of the Navy and returning to Butte, he pooled resources with his lifelong best friend, Tuck McGree to purchase the Copper Club, a bar, night club and gambling establishment in Meaderville, the precursor of Las Vegas in East Butte. Many the tale has been told of Harp and Tuck's days and nights running the Copper Club!

But as Gramma Anna used to say, "The Good Lord takes care of drunks and damned fools", and He took care of Harp and Tuck by bringing two very special women into their lives.

Esther Sullivan captured Harp's eye and heart and she made it very clear that she was not going to marry someone in the bar business. So, Tuck and Harp sold the Copper Club and in another Divine intervention, Dad went to work for New York Life Insurance Company where he had a very storied and successful career lasting over 60 years.

Esther and Harp were married in 1950 and spent 72 years together until Esther's death last year. Their marriage is a true love story and an example for all of us. Of all of Harp's many accomplishments and blessings, marrying Esther was by far his greatest. They were blessed with eight children and their life together brought the family to Boise, Portland, and Seattle. But Harp's heart was always in Butte and in 1968 was able to move back to the town that he loved.

Growing up in the Depression, Harp understood the value of a job. He recognized that it was more than the ability to feed and raise a family, it was also about dignity and self-worth. Through his career at New York Life and through his civic activities and business interests he helped hundreds of people find good jobs.

True to his Irish heritage, Harp was a politician. However, his work in politics was not for self-aggrandizement or power, but rather to help Butte and Montana. His efforts in bringing to Butte organizations like MERDI, MSE and NCAT brought millions of dollars into the community as well as new ideas and people, many whom have gone on to start some of the communities' most successful businesses and become valued citizens and leaders.

Harp was a prolific fundraiser. The list of organizations and causes for which he raised funds is beyond recall. He was also a philanthropist, the best kind, the quiet kind. He could squeeze the last nickel out of a business deal, but he was exceptionally generous to people and causes in need of help. Businessman, Politician, Philanthropist, yes, but that is not how he saw himself. He saw himself as a kid from the Cabbage Patch to whom God had given so very much: Great parents, a kind and loving wife, a good family, many friends that he loved. He was a man with an extraordinary capacity for love. He loved his family, his friends, and his community. He will be greatly missed, but his legacy will live on.

Friends may call on Thursday after 10:00 a.m. in St. Ann's Catholic Church. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers Harp's family would encourage donations to the Esther Sullivan Cote Academic Resource Program, P.O. Box 634, Butte, Montana 59703, to the Butte Food Bank, or to a charity of your choice.