Gary Coté was born in 1954 at the old Saint Mary’s hospital in New Westminster. His uncles started moving to Maillardville in the early 1940’s, all born on the homestead in Chauvin, Alberta. His father had eight brothers and sisters. His older brothers Tom (spouse Cecile), Paul (spouse Athela), Armand (spouse Germain). His father Lucien (spouse Mary), his sister Aurora (spouse Armand) and their mother Sarah (spouse deceased) all moved to Maillardville. Tom found employment at Fraser Mills and promptly relayed to the rest of the brothers to come to B.C. for work. His Aunt Aurora’s husband Armand also worked at the Mill.
His mother & father moved to Maillardville with his aunt, younger sister Ida who was 16 at the time and my older brother Wayne who was born in 1946. They all lived together until Ida met her future husband Larry Maloney also a mill employee. His mum’s youngest brother Ben moved down the hill from us on Thomas with his wife Fran. He did not work at the mill but was in construction his whole life. His father started out on the green chain and eventually went to night school to become an electrician at the mill. The brothers all worked in different roles throughout the mill.
Gary’s brother Norman was born in 1949. In 1968, he went to work at the mill until the mill closed. At 16 his dad procured employment for Gary at the mill for weekend work through high school. Not wanting to fall into the mill trap, he quit the mill one week after graduation in 1973 and went on to move into the U.S. and complete a University degree and post graduate work. He attended Lady of Lourdes elementary school (the old one in the church parking lot and the next one on Hammond Ave. before begging my parents to let me go to public school where all my friends attended.
Both elementary schools were torn down and the school continued at the newer constructed one at the top of the hill next to the nun’s convent on Laval and Rochester. All the family either went to church at Lourdes or Fatima. High mass was at 11am on Sundays all in French. The 9am and 5pm were in English. Gary currently (as of 2024) resides in Washington.