Obituary: Normand M. Cote AUBURN - Normand M. Cote passed away April 11, 2021, at the Auburn Hospice House. He was born in Lewiston, Sept. ... Read Article AUBURN – Normand M. Cote passed away April 11, 2021, at the Auburn Hospice House. He was born in Lewiston, Sept. 21, 1931, the son of William and Melanie Grenier Cote. Norm attended St. Mary’s Parochial School and graduated from St. Dominic High School, class of 1949. He was a member of Holy Cross Church – Prince of Peace Parish. After high school, Norm enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He went to boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. From there he went to Philadelphia, Pa., at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to attend Damage Control School, where he learned his skills of carpentry, boat repair, welding, sheet metal working, and as well as diving. A skill required to dive to work on the ship’s hulls and propellers. He was then assigned the USS Ajax AR6, a repair ship docked in San Diego, California. In June of 1950, a call came to the Ajax asking for volunteers to go to Point Barrow, Alaska on a resupply expedition, the Expedition was called Barex 50. Being only 19 years old, and anxious to see the world, he volunteered along with 12 of other Ajax shipmates. They boarded the USS Washburn, AKA 108, an attack cargo ship docked in San Diego. The ship traveled along the coast of California and Washington, docking at different ports to load assorted supplies to be delivered to the U.S. Naval Petroleum Reserve #4 at Point Barrow, Alaska, where in June there is the “Midnight Sun” which was very disorienting for the crews of the ships involved.