PITTSFIELD — When Francesca “Cessa” Cote arrived in Pittsfield in the 1970s, options for people seeking addiction recovery were limited, fragmented and, for many, out of reach.
Cote, a former New York social worker who was newly sober herself, was looking to continue her recovery beyond her first 30 days. What she found instead were only a handful of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and few formal resources in Berkshire County.
So she set out to change that.
Over the next four decades, Cote, who died Dec. 27 in Pittsfield at 96, became one of the most influential figures in addiction recovery in the Berkshires, building programs, founding organizations and mentoring generations of counselors, nurses and clinicians.
She is remembered not only by her family, but also by the thousands of people she saved.
“If you measure a person’s value by the number of souls they have saved and the number of nurses, therapists and other caregivers who have been exponentially inspired to save others, then her value is immeasurable,” said Janet Brannen, one of Cote’s mentees at the Brien Center.
Cote began her work locally at the Doyle Detox Unit in Pittsfield and went on to spearhead the Berkshire Council on Alcoholism and Addiction, serving as its executive director for more than two decades. In the mid-1970s, she helped launch one of the region’s first alcohol education programs for people convicted of drunken driving, and oversaw the Doyle Detox Unit until it was merged into the McGee Recovery Center in 2000.
“There was not much for people in recovery here in Berkshire County,” said Marie Geary, a longtime friend and mentee. “So she fought vigorously for that.”
Through the council, Cote helped establish what became the city’s first outpatient recovery center in 1980, now known as Keenan House, named for a close friend. Located on Francis Avenue, the program provided structured outpatient support at a time when such services were rare, and Cote ran the program for years.
She also bought up several other houses on Francis Avenue, Geary said, and “made them into, like three-quarterway houses for people who were in a better place, in recovery, but just really needed more support.”
The Berkshire Council on Alcoholism and Addiction merged with Mental Health Services of the Berkshires in 1997, forming Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of the Berkshires, which later became The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. After the merger, Cote ran the organization’s outpatient substance use programs and continued working as an addiction counselor.
As a clinician, she was known for her honesty, persistence and deep belief in people’s capacity to change.
“She would not give up on anyone,” Geary said. “She never minced words … she definitely was a straight shooter.”
Cote balanced patience with what those close to her described as tough love.
“She did enjoy bossing people around in a very positive way, but that’s her skill set,” said Cote’s eldest granddaughter, Lydia Carr. “But she liked helping people, and she really liked having a problem to solve … or it was a problem of staying sober.”
Rather than demanding perfection, Cote met people “where they were,” Carr said.
“She never expected things to stay the same, and she never got mad when they weren’t,” Carr said. “She had a real humanist sense that things were going forward and things were going to get better, and that we were learning and growing as a species.”
Cote’s commitment extended far beyond programs and buildings. She encouraged people from all walks of life — electricians, plumbers, contractors — to tap into their strengths and contribute to the recovery community, often helping themselves in the process, Geary said.
She stayed in touch with former clients for decades, many of whom continued to visit her well into her later years.
“The nicest thing about my mother getting old in Pittsfield is so many people would visit her,” said Ethan Carr, Cote’s son. “There were many people who would come and visit and who were supportive because of all the work she had done over the years.”
In 1998, Cote married Robert “Bob” Cote, a fellow recovery advocate known locally as “Mr. Sobriety.” He helped establish the Thomas McGee Substance Abuse Unit at Hillcrest Hospital in Pittsfield and served as its clinical director for 18 years before working another 16 years as a senior clinician at The Brien Center. The couple were married for 22 years before his death in 2020.
Cote worked tirelessly until she was 91 years old, only retiring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Her life’s mission [was] inspiring and guiding so many with grace and caring to be their best self, with a particular focus on women,” said Brannen, who nominated her for the “Best 50 Over 50” award several times. “And long before it was acceptable or fashionable, she worked tirelessly to fight both the societal and self-imposed stigmas that enslave individuals in the clutches of a cruel master — addiction.”
Though she made the Berkshires her home for more than four decades, Cote never lost what Brannen described as her “Greenwich Village flair.”
Born on Nov. 22, 1929, in Baltimore to Ernest and Audrey von Hartz, Cote spent her early years moving from Chicago to New York City. Her father, a newspaper editor, eventually took a position at The New York Times, grounding the progressive literary family in the city where Cote graduated from Barnard College in 1951.
“My first introduction to her was, like this powerful New York City, metropolitan style, woman with red hair and leather pants,” Geary said. “She was on a mission, you know, she fought fiercely for people to get better.”
Following in his footsteps, Cote began her career as a reporter with United Press, immersing herself in New York’s literary and Beat Generation circles. She later married Lucien Carr, with whom she had three sons, Simon, Ethan and the late Caleb Carr, author of The Alienist.
After divorcing Carr, she married John Speicher and began investigating housing conditions in New York City, work that steered her toward social services. Following that divorce, she moved to her family’s home in Cherry Plain, N.Y. — a transition that ultimately brought her to the Berkshires and shaped the rest of her life’s work.
Cote is survived by her sons Simon Carr and Ethan Carr; stepdaughters Hilda, Jennifer and Christine Speicher; five grandchildren, Lydia, Sam, Ben, Gabriela and Marion; and four great-grandchildren, Malcolm, Finlay, Una and Calvin.
When she would look up from her work, Cote’s passions ran wide: wildflower gardening, art (especially Georgia O’Keeffe), hosting book clubs, watching the Baltimore Orioles and spending quality time with her family.
“She was magical, confident, tough, caring, intelligent, and just a giver — constantly helping others, helping mentor people,” Brannen said.
