Obituary for Phyllis Cohn (Stein)
Phyllis Cohn, of La Jolla, CA, died August 20 from cardiac complications at the age of 94. Mrs. Cohn was born in Chicago in 1927 to Antoinette (Toby) and Abraham Stein. She and her late husband, Sandy, relocated from Winnetka, IL to San Diego in 1984 after Mr. Cohn and his late brother, Earl, sold their business, Superior Coffee Company.
Mrs. Cohn graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1947, where she met her future husband. She and Mr. Cohn were married in 1948 while he was attending the University of Chicago Law School. While Mr. Cohn attended law school, Mrs. Cohn worked on campus as an administrative assistant for the renowned child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim.
Years later, after raising her 4 children, Mrs. Cohn pursued her own interest in child development and obtained a master’s degree in special education, which she taught for several years in a suburban Chicago public school. When she and her husband moved to California, she became a volunteer in the development of the San Diego chapter of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program, which promotes reading to preschool children. While living in the Chicago area, Mrs. Cohn and her husband also supported the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago for many years.
Mrs. Cohn maintained a decades long involvement in leadership positions with Beth Israel Synagogue in La Jolla, CA, the United Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Relations Council, and she and her husband were founding members of the San Diego Chapter of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, and is survived by her sons Jeffrey (Jane), Stuart (Vivian), Roger, and daughter Janet Perlman (John) as well as grandsons Clayton, Clifford (Kayoko), David, Benjamin, Charles and William, and a sister, Esther Lohn, of La Jolla. Mrs. Cohn was pre-deceased by her sister, Cyrille DuBoff.
Private services will be held.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Congregation Beth Israel Caring Community Fund and the American Society for Technion.
Mrs. Cohn graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1947, where she met her future husband. She and Mr. Cohn were married in 1948 while he was attending the University of Chicago Law School. While Mr. Cohn attended law school, Mrs. Cohn worked on campus as an administrative assistant for the renowned child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim.
Years later, after raising her 4 children, Mrs. Cohn pursued her own interest in child development and obtained a master’s degree in special education, which she taught for several years in a suburban Chicago public school. When she and her husband moved to California, she became a volunteer in the development of the San Diego chapter of the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program, which promotes reading to preschool children. While living in the Chicago area, Mrs. Cohn and her husband also supported the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago for many years.
Mrs. Cohn maintained a decades long involvement in leadership positions with Beth Israel Synagogue in La Jolla, CA, the United Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Relations Council, and she and her husband were founding members of the San Diego Chapter of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, and is survived by her sons Jeffrey (Jane), Stuart (Vivian), Roger, and daughter Janet Perlman (John) as well as grandsons Clayton, Clifford (Kayoko), David, Benjamin, Charles and William, and a sister, Esther Lohn, of La Jolla. Mrs. Cohn was pre-deceased by her sister, Cyrille DuBoff.
Private services will be held.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Congregation Beth Israel Caring Community Fund and the American Society for Technion.