Contributions to the tribute of Joseph G Cohen

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Carrie Schwartz-Durante posted a condolence

Fond Memories of Joe come right into my mind. He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. Upon moving to the village around the corner from Joe and Dotty, I was greeted by Joe while he was walking his dog, having a small little dog myself I looked forward to meeting up with him in the early evening and walking with him. I found him charming and full of wonderful stories. When I moved out of the village in 99 and not that far away, we would see each other at Temple when I was able to attend due to work schedules. My children enjoyed his company and the little kirby's he would bring to us. He was a wonderful, wonderful good hearted man and I am certain sadly missed by all who knew him.

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Susan Kross, DVM posted a condolence

March 7, 2009 Dear Susan, Ian, David, Michelle, Nat, Roy, and Families: Thank you for affording me the opportunity to share the following thoughts on the passing of your admirable, brave, beloved father, brother, and uncle, who also happened to be our wonderful, devoted friend. Just as Paul Harvey, Jr. said at the funeral of his radio-famous father, for all of you, as well as for all the rest of us who knew and loved Joe, most definitely, "A tree has fallen." .............................. Joseph G. Cohen, aka "Mr. Cohen" by my late father, Morris, who considered Joe a very best friend. The mere fact that Joe was best friends with so many people spoke volumes about who he was. Joe always seemed to have so much to give to his friends -- relatives, too, of course -- and made nothing of doing so. In fact, in everything Joe did, he embodied Nike's world renowned mantra to a "T." Never mind what was involved, what "it" was. Joe just did it! Joe and my dad were each "Mr. Inter-County" in my eyes. Joe, after Al [no relation] Cohen migrated South, my father because he was board president for so many years. Since Joe spent so much time at the Co-Op, I viewed him as a vital fixture in the Village of Woodridge, as well. I remember my father driving his bulk truck to the feed mill on Fridays, looking forward to stopping in and visiting with Joe. Then there were the countless phone calls over the years. Indeed the pause Ian spoke of may've been part of Joe's protocol. But I never noticed it, and now I wish I had. What I recollect was, "This is Joe" -- sometimes he just said, "Joe!" -- "Morris around?" I remember the stopovers with Inter-County checks to sign or board issues to discuss. Joe would chat with Morris in the garden, on the tractor, or behind "the girls" at milking time. Though he always came dressed for the office, Joe nevertheless knew an Excellent cow when he saw one, and thus enjoyed admiring the beauties at Kross Farms almost as much as we did. In the garden, Morris would dig black radish, hand over a bag of Silver Queen sweet corn, or cut bodacious broccoli or cauliflower for Joe and Dorothy. Joe liked to taste Morris' sour pickles and tomatoes, too, as I recall. Speaking of tomatoes, I'll always remember the teeny tomatoes Joe brought us. I never tasted anything as sweet in a wholesome, natural way. Tomatoes were apparently one of Joe's pet crops, and rightfully so. Then there were the Monster races -- always triple H -- early on early, August, Sunday mornings. Joe would be there, directing traffic or keeping runners on the right track. He and I used to talk health/nutrition from time to time, but I doubt that Joe worked out in any particular way. Despite a vocation of office, as opposed to employed doing something more physical, he nevertheless kept trim and fit-looking his whole life long, suggesting that he must've had a superb sense of self discipline. When it came to celebrations in my family, Joe and Dorothy usually celebrated with us. Occasionally, a conflict in their clan -- for instance, Dorothy's birthday. My mother, Ruth's, was March 19 -- prevented them from joining us. Listening to the witty remarks Joe made -- something about red-and-white Holsteins ["Goldsteins"] at my father's Eagle's Nest retirement dinner from the Fallsburg School Board in 1991 -- they're on a VHS tape -- I can thus imagine how much he enjoyed being in the lymelight at Cohen Family functions, too. After I learned that Joe -- Oh, I don't believe in any of that -- and I [David, too] were born under the same astrological sign, I paid closer attention to the kind of person he was. Over time, I concluded that Joe displayed all the attributes assigned to Taurus, at their very best. Kross Farms parted with its cattle in August 1998. After that, but prior to Morris' strokes in January 2001, one of my dad's greatest pleasures was meeting Joe in Woodridge -- it was their date -- for lunch at the Family Restaurant. Retirement for Joe, too -- when he finally announced it -- meant putting four new tires on the family car. During the years after illness struck -- first my father, thereafter my mother, too -- Joe was there for the three of us. Joe and Dorothy, together with Dave and Rose Levitz, met us at the Blue Horizon, for my parents anniversaries # 57 and 58, waiting patiently until we finally arrived, walker, etc., and all. Joe was one of the very few "friends"-- most relatives shunned us, too -- who ever came to visit, and he came or called quite often. He'd ask if we needed anything -- medications from the pharmacy? -- or if there were something we might enjoy. Best of all was a Friendship Farmer Bar, a delicacy he knew we'd missed for months while in Pittsburgh hospitals and rehabs. I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing Joe in Inter-County action, when I accompanied my otherwise homebound dad to Bernie's Restaurant for a few board meetings. I was highly impressed by Joe's efficiency and attention to every detail, as illustrated in how he ran the show. From his handwriting on an Inter-County check on down the line, one word best describes Joe's style, and that word is "class." Joe epitomized it. Watching the well=being of the love of his life, Dorothy, decline -- then losing her -- was understandably a terrible blow for Joe. But thanks to the trooper within, plus the support of Susan, Ian, David, Michelle, compassionate caregivers, and faithful friends, Joe did his best to pull together, continuing his involvement with temple, family, friends, Inter-County, and community groups as long as possible. People who never said two words to Joe, but had seen him out and about around the region, were nonetheless greatly inspired by him. Having heard others use it in conjunction with his name, umpteen times, another word that will thus come to mind when I think of Joe will be "amazing." Joseph G. Cohen was pure and simply amazing. Naturally, Joe attended both my beloved parents' funerals. But it was thereafter that Joe stepped up to the plate to provide much needed, much appreciated wisdom. Wisdom about so many things, from careers to home improvement, and from demolishing dilapidated buildings to selling real estate. You name it. That's right. Along with genuine class and what an amazing man Joe was, an what I'll remember, [and miss] most in the world without him, will be his vast, invaluable wisdom. Though he's gone but a matter of days, I already have a long list of topics I wish he'd weigh in on. Within the past 18 months, especially, I looked forward to calling him with an update on what I was -- or wasn't -- doing, then asking his opinion on this or that. I tried my best to make our conversations interesting. Fortunately, he also had relatives and other friends calling or stopping by to help buoy his spirits and stimulate his ever intelligent mind. Except at times pursuant to Dorothy's death -- like a world class marathoner, mile after effortless mile, Joe made life look easy, as if it were the silky, smooth icing on a devil's food layer cake. It was only after he developed that excrucating back pain, this fall that I could see it was, and heard him say, otherwise. It was late in the afternoon, this past New Year's Eve. "Life is rough," he declared deliberately, reluctantly. I -- so many years Joe's junior, having felt that way since 2006, and having made no bones about it -- sadly nodded my head in agreement. I gave him a big hug. There was no point in trying to hold back the tears. .............................. May Joe's/Dorothy's souls rest in eternal peace, and may yours, and the hearts of all those who inhabited their sphere, be forever filled with memories of love and inspiration. In sincere friendship and heartfelt sympathy on the loss of Joe, Dorothy, and Mary, Susan 155 Steam Hollow Rd Ellenville, NY 12428

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Richard M. Cohen posted a condolence

To the dear family of Joe, Please accept my sincere condolences upon the passing of your dear father and brother. I remember him as a dynamic and astute individual who would enter the bank in Woodridge on the hill like a whirling dervish. May his memory be for a blessing. And may warm and nurturing memories help sustain you now and always. Sincerely, Richard M. Cohen Mountaindale) Margate, FL

In loving memory of

Joseph

1915 - 2009

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