Cotter, Joseph William June 8, 1958 - October 25, 2024

Joseph William Cotter, 66, of Purdys, New York, and New York City passed away Friday, October 25, 2024 unexpectedly from a heart attack.  Joe was the beloved and proud father of Lydia (“Liddy”)  and William (“W”), the partner of Jane Carroll, and former husband of Lydia Biddle. The son of Diane Cotter Liesching and the late Joseph P. Cotter, Joe was born June 8, 1958 in New York City and raised in Astoria, Queens and Crestwood, NY. He attended Annunciation School in Crestwood, the Hackley School in Tarrytown, King’s College, Taunton in Somerset UK, Pembroke College at the University of Oxford, and Williams College, MA, where he received a degree in Political Economics. Joe went on to earn his MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Joe was the President National Resources, which he founded in 1988 with his business partner, Lynne Ward.  National Resources is a specialist real estate development and investment firm that focuses on the redevelopment of urban and industrial sites. Innovation was Joe’s hallmark and central to National Resources’ success in developing real estate that transforms people and the environment in order to enhance the lives of residents and community members. Joe saw things other people didn’t, and that’s how he approached business, and life.

Joe adored spending time with his family and extended family – whether in Purdys, watching sports including his beloved Yankees, or times walking on the beach.   Joe’s other passion was reimagining the world – and the projects that could bring his vision to life. He travelled extensively just to look at architecture and innovations of any kind, discovering nooks and crannies wherever he went.

Joe was an accomplished athlete and leader in his youth, and that is where he learned to see life as a team sport. At Hackley, he was captain of the basketball and baseball teams. He was recruited by King’s College, Taunton as an athletic scholar and joined their Rugby team.  He contributed spectacularly to the team, which earned him the right to become an All-England Rugby Player for his class, unheard of for a novice American player.  During his time at Pembroke College in Oxford, he received his “blues” for basketball.

With his father and several family members in the NYPD, and his brother Billy serving as a government advisor to the US Treasury, Joe had a deep respect for all those that serve communities and this country.

Joe was the eternal optimist, with a sparkle in his eye; he always lit up the rooms and brought groups of people together. He was 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. He had a prolifically quick wit and an uncanny ability to relate and engage with people. His ability to connect knew no bounds, from the construction workers on his projects to executives and colleagues in the finance community, to academics at Oxford. 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.

Along with his children, Liddy and William and William’s fiancé Clarissa Cena Wallin,  Joe is survived by his partner, Jane Carroll, his former wife, Lydia Biddle; his mother, Diane Cotter Liesching; brother, William T. Cotter, sister Dianne and her husband Bill Ledingham; niece Dr. Lauren Ledingham and her husband James Whittle; niece Christine (“Christie”) Ledingham and her fiancé, Stephen Skubina;  and nephew Will Ledingham.  He was predeceased by his father, Joseph P. Cotter, and his stepfather, Richard Liesching.

Joe was a patriarch, and a larger-than life individual. He will leave a void in our world as we have lost a powerful force, and one who showed us that having fun and meaning with all those you journey with IS the destination.

A private funeral service and burial will be held by the family. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Joe’s memory to the Joseph W. Cotter NYPD Emerald Society Foundation https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/NYPDEmeraldSociety

A memorial celebration of Joe’s life will also be held in the near future where all are welcomed.  Details to follow.