Visitation: FRIDAY, April 3, 2015: 2-4 & 7-9 pm at The Dietrich Funeral Homes, Inc., 2480 Kensington Ave. Amherst.
Service: MONDAY, April 6, 2015: A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 am at Christ the King Church. COTTER – William J.
March 31, 2015, beloved husband of
57 years to Mary Ellen (nee Brosnahan)
Cotter; loving father of Betsy
(Thomas) Mileham, John (Sue) Cotter,
Ann (Rob) Kelley, David (Tracy) Cotter,
Kevin (Susan) Cotter, Douglas (Kelly)
Cotter and Christopher (Orit) Cotter;
dear grandfather of 19 grandchildren;
brother of Marguerite “Bete” (late William)
Bukowski; predeceased by two
brothers and two sisters; brother-in-law
of Mary Cotter and Marilyn Cotter; also
survived by many nieces and nephews.
Family and friends may call Friday 2-4
and 7-9 PM at the DIETRICH FUNERAL
HOME INC., 2480 Kensington Ave.,
Amherst. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated
on Monday at 9:30 AM at Christ
the King Church, 30 Lamarck Dr.,
Amherst. Please assemble at church.
Flowers gratefully declined. Memorials
to the Friends of the West Side Rowing
Club, 5109 Main St., Williamsville,
14221. On-line condolences at www.
TheDietrichFuneralHome.com. Sept. 1, 1930 – March 31, 2015 William J. “Bill” Cotter of Amherst, former president of the West Side Rowing Club and member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, died Tuesday in Buffalo General Hospital after a long illness. He was 84. Born in Lackawanna, Mr. Cotter was a lifelong resident of the area who graduated from Canisius High School in 1948, Canisius College in 1952 and Fordham Law School in 1955. He served in the Army, and worked as a contract officer based at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. Mr. Cotter’s long involvement in rowing included winning a gold medal at the 1951 Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. Mr. Cotter was a member of the West Side Rowing Club since 1948 and served as its president from 1964 to 1981. He was also an officer, director and trustee there. Mr. Cotter was president when a fire destroyed the club’s Broderick Park facility in 1975. The club rebuilt just off Porter Road on a strip of land and named it Cotter’s Point to honor him for the legal work he performed to acquire the land. He was an officer, director and driving force of the Friends of the West Side Rowing Club since 1982. Mr. Cotter also was a 65-year member of the Buffalo Canoe Club and brought the national convention of the U.S. Rowing Association to Buffalo in 1982. He was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. In terms of his legal career, Mr. Cotter had several firms with law partners and was a 65-year member of the Erie County and state bar associations. Among his activity in many community organizations, Mr. Cotter was also a member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo, a mentor to youth at School 72/Lorraine Academy in Buffalo, a member of the Chief Petty Officers Club, as well as Eucharistic minister at Christ the King Catholic Church in Amherst. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, the former Mary Ellen Brosnahan. Other survivors include daughters Betsy Mileham and Ann Kelley; sons John, David, Kevin, Douglas and Christopher; sister Marguerite “Bete” Bukowski; and 19 grandchildren. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Christ the King Catholic Church, 30 Lamarck Drive, Amherst.