Catherine Cohen

1930 - 2022

Catherine Cohen
November 21, 1930 - June 29, 2022
At daybreak on the morning of Wednesday, June 29, 2022, Catherine Black Cohen passed away at her younger daughter's home in the hills of Briones, California with her loving family and faithful dog Carmella attending to her. Before she passed, she managed to say goodbye, in person or on the phone, to so many friends and family whom she loved.
A devout Episcopalian her entire life, Catherine was predeceased on February 22, 1998 by her beloved husband, Dr. Melvin Joseph Cohen(69), a retired Yale University biology professor and member of the National Academy of Sciences. A descendant of French Huguenots, her sense of adventure never lagged and she traveled extensively with children and friends, hiking, boating, whitewater rafting and traveling by train and air.
Catherine 's father was University of Oregon English professor Frank Gees Black and her mother Radcliffe-educated Latin scholar Renée Métivier Black. Catherine graduated from and later taught French at the University of Oregon, was a member of the original class of Fulbright Fellows, studied for years in Europe, especially France, was fluent in six languages, and was even enlisted as a spy by the Foreign Service (which she was not given to speak much about).
Catherine loved spending summers at the cottage on their small island in Port Clyde, Maine and nourishing a spirit of adventure in her 4 children, who could not have asked for a more amazing mother. She was a gifted writer, novelist and poet. She also loved to entertain and specialized in French cooking, with her children and grandchildren always clamoring for her French onion soup.
Catherine (91) is survived by
- an older sister, Carolyn Black Mervyn (93), residing in Vancouver, Canada and her children and grandchildren.
- her older son Frank Métivier Cohen (64) and his wife Ann Procianos Cohen (67); Frank's daughter Rebecca Caldwell Cretella (38) by his first wife Iva Ann Hilton (67) and Rebecca's husband Jeffrey Cretella (39) with sons Nathan Ryan Cretella (6) and Noah Benjamin Cretella (3); their son Judah "Jyreh" Procianos Cohen (33) and his wife-to-be Marjorie Jean Recto Rafaeles (27) with daughter Marah Miyumi "Yumi" Rafaeles Cohen (7) and son Justice Frann Rafaeles Cohen (2); and their younger daughter Tala Mayumi Katerina Cohen (24).
- her older daughter Neda Solinis (61) with her daughter Maya Solinis-Heath (21).
- her younger daughter, Sarah van Hout-Cohen (57) and her husband Wim-Kees van Hout (59), and their children Sebastiaan Melvin Lambert van Hout (21) and Lianna Caterina Corrie van Hout (19).
- her younger son, Samuel David Cohen (55) and his wife Dr. Katy Hicks (59); with their daughters Amy Sierra Cohen (17) and Rachel Caldwell Cohen (17).
In California, a service was held on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 at St. Clement's Episcopal Church in Berkeley. In Maine, a service was held on Friday, July 15, 2022 at Port Clyde Christian Church, followed by the funeral at nearby Ridge Church cemetery in Martinsville, where Catherine was laid to rest next to and reunited with the love of her life, Mel.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following organizations: SAGE Compassion for Animals (sagec4a.org/donate); Maine Coast Heritage Trust (mcht.org); The Wilderness Society (act.wilderness.org/donate); and Planned Parenthood (weareplannedparenthoodaction.org/donate/defend).