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Memorial Planned For Beloved Real Estate Developer From Northern Westchester After Sudden Death

Friends and loved ones will soon gather to remember the legacy of a prolific New York real estate developer and Williams College graduate who spent years redeveloping industrial properties and transforming communities in the process.

Joseph Cotter of Purdys. 

Joseph Cotter of Purdys. 

Photo Credit: Dean Bender

A memorial is set to be held on Saturday, Nov. 9 to celebrate the memory of Joseph Cotter, a resident of the Northern Westchester County hamlet of Purdys in North Salem, who died on Monday, Oct. 25 at the age of 66 following a heart attack.

The service will be held at 10 a.m. at the Robert Halmi Sr. Academy of Film and Television, located at 463 Hawthorne Avenue in Yonkers. 

A successful real estate developer, Cotter was the president of National Resources, a New York real estate development and investment firm that centers on transforming urban and industrial sites. 

Under Cotter's direction, the firm redeveloped more than $2 billion in projects throughout the Tri-State area, using existing infrastructure to make properties more sustainable. 

Cotter founded National Resources in 1988 with his business partner, Lynne Ward, according to his obituary. 

Before that, he attended Annunciation School in the Crestwood neighborhood of Yonkers; the Hackley School in Tarrytown; King's College, Taunton in Somerset, United Kingdon; Pembroke College at the University of Oxford; and Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he earned a Political Economics degree.

During his years in school, Cotter emerged as a standout athlete—he became captain of his basketball and baseball teams at Hackley and even became an All-England Rugby Player for his class at Taunton, according to his obituary. 

Cotter's obituary described him as a "futurist with a global point of view." 

"He had a keen intellect, always dreaming and envisioning a way to level up, or help someone pursue their dreams," his obituary read, continuing, "He truly had a gift in bringing smiles to everyone he met and never outgrew the urge to create a little mischief, recognizing the uniting and energizing power of laughter. We loved him for it."

He is survived by his partner, Jane Carroll; his former wife, Lydia Biddle; his mother, Diane Cotter Liesching; his brother, William; his sister, Dianne; and countless other family members and friends. 

In addition to the Yonkers memorial service, Cotter's family will hold a private funeral service and burial.

Click here to read his full obituary.  

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