Gail Gordon Kocen

Early Friday August 10th, 2018 Gail Gordon Kocen, wife to Bryan and mother to Sam and David Kocen, passed away suddenly. Gail was a devoted wife and mother and an active member of the Coachella Valley community. She will be remembered for her kindness, sincerity, and constant desire in expressing gratitude and love to those present in her life.

Gail received her Bachelor's Degree in Sociology at The University of Chicago and received her Masters in Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. Since 1991, Gail has been co-founder and Executive Vice President at the Kocen Financial Group helping hundreds of individuals achieve their financial goals.

Gail was always known for her commitment to helping others and supporting the causes that were near to her heart. She served for a number of years on the Palm Springs Jewish Federation's Woman's Board as well as The Jewish Federation of North America's National Young Leadership Cabinet. Perhaps the most significant of these commitments was to the Palm Valley School where she served as chairwoman for the past 6 Years. Building a new upper school campus, expanding the AP offerings and College Counseling department, and helping develop the Early Childhood Program are among her many accomplishments.

Gail went above and beyond, however, going out of her way to support her children and their friends in all of their extracurricular activites. Countless trips to and from cross-country and track races were made in the famous "Kocenmobile" thanks to her willingness to support the team. Incredible outbursts of creativity and problem solving was possible thanks to her bringing Odyssey of the Mind to the school and serving as a coach for seven years.

Most importantly, Gail was first and foremost a loving wife and mother to her husband and sons. Known affectionately as the Mama Bear, Gail made it her purpose to develop a family rooted in love and gratitude for one another. She always made it a purpose to show us how beautiful the world can be and how to express that beauty in the form of gratitude. Whether it was insisting to take pictures whenever family got together, sharing a kind word, or simply lending a listening ear, Gail knew the importance of sharing love and perpetuating kindness.

Something we truly believe is that one reason Gail was put on this Earth was to teach us how to genuinely love one another and experience with gratitude the beauty of the everyday. There is no doubt that she succeeded in this mission. She will be dearly missed.

Sincerely.
Bryan, Sam, and David Kocen

To honor the memory of Gail Kocen donations should be made to California Inland Empire Council, BSA, The Palm Valley School, or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research