SACO — Each day Stacey Cote arrives for work and enters his office, he’s reminded of the importance of his job and what it means to serve his fellow man.

Stacey Cote, 50, is the fifth generation of his family to serve the community as a funeral director and takes great pride in the fact that through the years, thousands of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents have come to trust Cote Funeral Home to care for loved ones when a death occurs.

Like his father before him, Stacey Cote didn’t start out to become involved in his family’s business.

He attended Stonehill College in Massachusetts and majored in healthcare administration. After completing his studies, he landed a job in Malden, Massachusetts working with people with head injuries, but a conversation with his father convinced him to return to Saco and he asked if he could join the business.

“I never thought of this business as a legacy, I thought of it as a calling,” Stacey Cote said. “The best aspect of this job is being part of our community and being known in the community if someone needs us. As a family, we’re there for them and we understand their concerns.”

To the best of Stacey’s Cote knowledge, the very first Cote to work in the funeral profession in Saco was Francis X. Cote in the early part of the 20th century.

Frank H. Cote established Cote Funeral Home at 119 Lincoln St. in 1926 in Saco and the business grew steadily. Stacey’s grandfather, Francis Xavier “FX” Cote, built a new Cote Funeral Home and relocated to 87 James St. in Saco in 1953.

Bryan Cote, 78, is Stacey’s father and he didn’t start out to become a funeral director like his own father before him.

“I wanted to be a pilot,” he said. “That didn’t work out and I knocked around New England before I came back here and asked if I could join my father in the business.”

That was 44 years ago and over that span, Bryan has been part of two major renovations of the funeral home and helped so many families in a time of need that he’s lost count.

“I think the key to our success is being always available,” Bryan Cote said. “In my opinion, absentee ownership is detrimental.”

The funeral business has changed tremendously over the decades, but the Cote Family connection in the community remains a constant.

“My dad is here seven days a week,” Stacey Cote said. “Generations know him and ask for him.”

He said it’s been interesting to work with his father for the past 22 years and has learned a great deal from him.

“He always does the right thing,” Stacey Cote said. “One thing he’s passed on to me is you can’t teach people to care. If you truly care, you’ll always do the right thing.”

He said he derives great satisfaction from helping others at one of the most difficult times of their lives.

“I feel like I’ve done something for myself when I help people,” Stacey Cote said. “When they tell me thanks, I believe that I’ve done some good and it’s nice to hear something positive. I simply try to do my best and try to help.”  

According to Stacey Cote, he isn’t going to push his children to follow him into the family’s business.

“Whatever my children want to do, I think that’s what I want for me,” he said. “My wife is Lori and my children are Ariana and Anakin. I often wonder, what will my children do, I hope that it is whatever makes them happy. My dad is Bryan and my mom is Janice, probably the most supportive person I know.”

Both Bryan and Stacey Cote agree that the cornerstone of the funeral home is their family, along with character, integrity, and faith.

“I think that most importantly we acknowledge that someone has passed away and give the opportunity to say goodbye in many different respectful ways,” Stacey Cote said. “I feel the support system of family, friends and the community allow for hope of the living and a chance to reflect on our lives, as well as the lives we have lost.”