In Memoriam: Cote K. Laramie ’14

Friends, peers, and advisers pay tribute to Cote K. Laramie ’14, who took his life on September 6, 2012, at his home in Pembroke, N.H.

“Looking back at what was even that year and a half ago, I remember him less as the specific person and more as the force of life: radiant, musical, present.  Reminders: of the fragility and power of seeing beauty.   So long as the flowers have scent, mothers love their sons, the stars shine, and the green grass trembles, I will never forget him.  I suppose then, I think about Cote often. For he is here as he was then.”
–Hilton R. Simmet ’15

“Cote had a talent for lifting your spirits and making you laugh. His energy and joy were infectious and I’m so grateful that, for a brief time, he chose to share them with me.”
–Nicole M. Morreale ’13

“Cote was one of the best listeners I ever knew; you could talk to him about anything and he always listened with an open heart and mind. I had many late nights staying up and chatting with him, we would chat about anything ranging from physics to our personal struggles and Cote would always be fully invested in the conversation.”
–Geoffrey Y. Lee ’14

Cote was like a shooting star who lit up the Harvard firmament. He left an indelible impression on all whom he encountered, students, faculty and staff.
–Ali S. Asani ’77, professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic religion and cultures

“Cote, you are a beacon of guiding light, the buoy that kept us blockmates afloat. I long for your easy smiles, your ready assurances, and your eager loquacity. Our spontaneous conversations and your touching poetry are the only words of yours I have now. They are forever enshrined in my soul.”
–Preston G. So ’14

–Quotations compiled by Radhika Jain