Lester Cohen

- - Lester Cohen, 80, passed away at home surrounded by family and friends in the early morning of Wednesday December 27th 2017 due to complications from Parkinson's Disease.

Lester was born in Brooklyn, New York the only child of Joseph and Celia Cohen. He went to Midwood High School and spent his childhood surrounded by close friendships he maintained throughout his life. His close friends Mark Seitman, William D'Arienzo, and Joel Halpern brought him great joy and he always looked forward to phone calls, golf trips and outings.

Lester graduated from The Ohio State University and he was a proud Buckeye throughout his life. He loved watching Ohio State football and basketball and proudly flew the Ohio State flag outside his home each game day. His familiar attire of Ohio State sweatshirts and clothing were widely recognized by all who knew him.

After college, Lester returned home to Brooklyn where he joined his family business, Cleaner Sales and Equipment Corporation, which he successfully ran for 42 years. In Brooklyn he meet and married Jo-Ann Schumm. They were married 50 years.

Jo-Ann and Lester moved to Rockland County in 1971 where they raised two sons, Jeffry and Matthew Cohen. Lester loved maintaining his house and pool and was fortunate to remain at home throughout his illness. He had many hobbies and interests throughout his life including travel and cruising, golf, sailing and spending time in Florida. He prided himself on being an early adopter of technology and spent many hours surfing the internet and keeping in touch with friends through email and texting.

Lester is survived by his wife, Jo-Ann Cohen, his son Jeffry Cohen, of Boca Raton, Florida and his son and daughter-in-Law, Matthew and Amy Cohen and grandson, Noah Cohen, from St. George, Vermont.

His family wishes to extend sincere gratitude and appreciation to his devoted caregivers who provided exceptional care and support over the last several years: Colet Pinnock-Watkins, Johanna Bodenstab, Winsome Maisonet and Tiffany Lherisson.

A memorial service will be held at Hellman Memorial Chapel, in Spring Valley NY on Friday 9am. The family will welcome guests to the home following the service and on Saturday and Sunday after 12pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations in Lester's memory to The Michael J Fox Foundation or the Parkinson's Foundation.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Journal News on Dec. 28, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for Lester Cohen

Sponsored by Hellman Memorial Chapels - Spring Valley.

5 Entries

sharon clark

January 2, 2018

I was fortunate to work, and personally meet, with Lester for many many years in his capacity as site selection chairman for TCATA. I loved coordinating his site visits, along with my hotel affiliations, and always looked forward to hearing of his visits and comments as only Lester could relay to me. We confirmed many TCATA Annual Meetings through the years and we formed a friendship through our many phone calls. Lester never missed calling me on my birthday each May and I will truly miss speaking with him again. A great man I am proud to have known ~ you will be missed. RIP ~
sharon clark

December 30, 2017

Lester lived a active and gallant life. The God of Abraham promised "To bring back the soul from the pit to be enlightened with the light of the living."(Job 33:30) May you treasure this promise to embrace Lester again. I give the Cohen family and relatives my condolence.

Robert Dell

December 29, 2017

I knew Lester from his community efforts to protect his neighborhood from over development. We had many conversations about Orangetown and local planning issues. Lester had strong opinions and was willing to take a stand when most people would sit down.

He will be missed, and I feel that I have lost a good friend and ally.

David Cotter

December 28, 2017

On behalf of his many friends and colleagues in the Textile Care Allied Trades Association, I want to recognize and thank Lester for his enormous contributions to the Association. He did much to support and advance TCATA, which was recognized when he was one of the few people to be awarded the J. Morry Friedlander Award, the Association's highest honor. Lester will be missed by many.

Bruce W Johnson

December 27, 2017

I am proud to call Lester my friend and mentor through our time together as officers and Directors of the Textile Care Allied Trades Association. Even though Lester worked in a a completely different part of our industry than I did and still do today, I feel fortunate that our paths crossed in our voluntary positions for the benefit of our broader industry. His counsel, wisdom, and sense of humor were much appreciated both by me and my Board of Directors. With his help, TCATA became a more vital organization that remains strong today. I am happy Lester and I had a long phone conversation not long ago covering everything from the latest in our industry to my family's recent trips to Berlin and Cuba- both of which he had visited years ago. Bruce W. Johnson President Chicago Dryer Company

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