The STEPS To Being A Hero

His Family Grave

Although I never meet him I have heard many stories about my Great Grandfather, John Cotter. He was born March 30, 1914 and passed away from Lung Cancer April 3, 1991 at the age of 77, due to smoking cigarettes and being a firefighter without modern health/ safety measures. He is buried in Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts with his ancestors before him under a Die, Base, and Cap grave. In this cemetery it also lays rest to many members of the Kennedy Family.  

My Great Grandfather was born, raised and lived his whole life in Needham, Massachusetts. I am the fifth generation of my family to live in that same hometown and he was heavily involved in the community.  He had 1 son and 4 daughters, including my Grandma who told me all about him for this project.

The Inside of the Church He Saved

My favorite story I have learned about him involves my family church, St. Joseph Parish. My Great Grandfather was left on the church doorstep and raised by Nuns until he was adopted at 3 years old. The history of where he comes from was never known to my family and is still a mystery. That church is also meaningful because it is where I grew up going to and five generations before me have been married there, it’s very important to me and my family. One day however it caught on fire, and because my Great Grandfather was chief he made the decision to go inside the church to save pictures of Jesus and other pieces from the alter. Afterwards he was told by the priest to keep the works of art for his bravery. When he passed away my family decided to donate the things he saved to my hometowns historical society. 

My Great Grand Father and Mother

Another hobby of his included photography. Similarly to my story before, after the church was burned down he took pictures of the aftermath and the rebuilding of the new church. His pictures were printed in the town newspaper many times in the years of reconstruction. Nowadays many members of my family have an interest in photography, which I believe stems from him.