SOUTH PORTLAND — Jane K. Cote, 91, of South Portland, died Jan. 31, peacefully, at her residence, following a brief illness.

She was born July 10, 1922, in Evanston, Ill., the daughter of Joseph and Natalie DuPlessis Kowalski. She attended Mount Saint Scholastica, a private Catholic boarding school in Kansas, graduating in 1940. As a teenager, she enjoyed riding horses and playing the piano and was an avid athlete. She attended Mundelein College and then moved to White Plains, N.Y.

In White Plains, she worked as an executive secretary for Row, Peterson and Company. This is where she met her husband Eugene D. Cote. They relocated to South Portland, settled in and began raising their family.

She was a daily communicant of St. John’s Church. She was on the Women’s Council and assisted at her church and later at Holy Cross as a Eucharistic minister.

She loved gardening and was a member of the Osewantha Garden Club. She was on a bowling team at the Big 20, playing well into her 91st year on the King Pins Team. Other interests included playing cards, Yahtzee and Scrabble. She loved animals, but most of all, being surrounded by her numerous friends and family.

She was predeceased by her parents; brothers, Joseph Kowalski and Robert Kowalski; and husband, Eugene D. Cote Sr.

She is survived by her five children; David Cote, Natalie Henry and husband Rob, Kathryn Brooks and husband Greg, Eugene Cote III and wife Lisa, and William Cote and wife Patty; grandchildren, John, Peter and Jennifer Anthony, Ashley Brooks, Shannon Williamson, Marguax, Hannah and Eliza Cote, and Andrea and Kyle Cote; great-grandchildren, Kyle Cushman, Dakota Tompkins and Jacob McClory; and her cat, Coco.

Visiting hours were held Feb. 3, at Conroy-Tully Crawford South Portland Chapel, South Portland. Prayers recited at the chapel, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Maximilian Kolbe Church, Scarborough. Interment followed in Calvary Cemetery, South Portland.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to VNA Home Health & Hospice, 50 Foden Road, Suite 3, South Portland, ME 04106, or Animal Refuge League 449 Stroudwater St., Westbrook, ME 04092, or Matthew Rairdon Scholarship Fund at Evergreen Credit Union c/o Pauline Campbell P.O. Box 1038, Portland, ME 04104-1038.

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