CALGARY- There is an outpouring of support across Alberta for a mother and her two daughters who lost a cherished husband and father.
46-year-old father Eric Cote was killed last Thursday in a multi-vehicle pileup on the QEII.
It was the latest in a series of tragedies to strike the Cote family.
Ghislaine Moreault and both of her daughters suffer from a genetic disease that causes tumours. They are also struggling financially.
They have no car and are worried about paying the rent.
People have stepped forward to help the family including a Red Deer businessman with a special connection to the Cotes’.
He was one of the first people to arrive at the crash scene last week, and comforted Eric Cote during his final moments. It’s an experience Craig Howes says he will never forget.
“I said to the fellow: ‘Just so you know your wife and kids have been taken out of harm’s way. And if you need to let go, now’s the time. It will be OK, you can let go if you need to; I can tell you’re in a lot of pain.’
“And then he let go,” says Howe.
“And you sit there and you feel someone let go in your hands; obviously it affects you. “
Howes is now raising money for the Cote family through his network in the business community.
“I would like to call on people, associates, colleagues, customers, and other business people in the community to realize you’re never that far from it happening to you.”
Howes has also put the family in touch with a counsellor through a Calgary charity.
The Cotes’ are overwhelmed by the response.
“Incredible, incredible,” says Eric Cote’s brother, Michel. “All the Albertans, they have big heart.”
A trust fund has been set up for the Cote family at ATB.
Anyone wishing to donate can go to any location, but will have to provide the account number 712-00265716300.
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