Sheldon S Cohen

Sheldon S. Cohen, PhD

Professor and author Sheldon S. Cohen, 94, died on February 24 in Evanston.

A beloved scholar, and lifelong learner, Cohen was Emeritus Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago, where he taught from 1969 until 2003. He published numerous scholarly articles and books focusing on the American Revolution and its aftermath.

Cohen grew up in Barberton, Ohio, and always had an affinity for history, a subject he majored in at Yale University. After graduation, he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the mid 1950s. After receiving his master's degree in education from Harvard University, he then earned his PhD at New York University. In New York, he met Kayla Scheer and they married in 1965. During the 1960s, Cohen taught at Hunter College in New York and Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., before joining the faculty at Loyola. The Cohens moved to Evanston in 1972 and in recent years he enjoyed sitting on a chair in his front yard, greeting longtime and new neighbors.

Alongside Cohen's main area of study, he also published numerous articles ranging from such subjects as Negro League baseball, Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger, and the end of football at the University of Chicago. A longtime fan of college sports, primarily Loyola basketball, he followed the scores even during his final days.

Throughout Cohen's life, he would recite lines he recalled from the English Romantics who he read as a Yale undergrad. His incredible memory for details included a knowledge of films released decades ago, which would amaze people he encountered at revival screenings in Chicago theaters. He enjoyed traveling, especially to England and to Rome where he taught for a semester in 1999.

Cohen is survived by his wife Kayla, sons Aaron (Lavonne) Cohen and Matthew (Julie) Cohen and grandson Benjamin Cohen.

Services Friday, February 27th, 11:00 am at Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd. (at Niles Center Road). Interment Private. To view the livestream, please visit our website. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Newberry Library, https://www.newberry.org/support/make-a-gift
Select TRIBUTE GIFT box; fill in appropriate fields to make gift In Memory of Sheldon S. Cohen or Loyola University Chicago, https://loyolauniversitychicago3.my.site.com/ascendportal/s/give?appeal=26Y02, DIRECT YOUR GIFT: select box that gift is In Memory of someone; fill in appropriate fields to designate In Memory of Sheldon S. Cohen. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals-Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com