LESTER S. COHEN

COHEN, Lester S. Passed away surrounded by his family on March 17, 2024, at the age of 82. Lester graduated from Brookline High School and the University of Vermont. After graduation from college and ROTC in 1963, Lester served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, 3rd Armored Division in Germany. He married Susan Waldman in 1966 and raised their family in Sharon, MA and Ridgewood, NJ. He continued post-graduate business studies at Boston College while working as an executive at Filene's Department Store and Morton Shoe and eventually, founded a wholesale footwear company, Grand Imports, Inc. Lester was proud to have been a member of the NY Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Board of Directors, a life member of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation, a member of the Executive Committee of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America and a longtime member of Apple Ridge Country Club in Mahwah, NJ. Lester is survived by his wife of 58 years, Susan Cohen; brother, Edward (Dianne) Cohen; sister, Inez (Alan) Grimaldi; son, Lee (Kristen) Cohen; daughter, Beth Schunke; granddaughter, Georgia Waehler; and grandsons, Daniel, Thomas, Peter and Charlie Cohen. In lieu of flowers, donations in Lester's memory can be made to New England Donor Services, 60 First Avenue, Waltham, MA 02451, neds.org or to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation MA/RI Chapter, 220 N. Main St., Ste. 104, Natick, MA 01760-1100 www.cff.org/chapters/massachusetts-rhode-island-chapter Graveside services will be private. Friends, family and loved ones are invited to Celebrate Lester's Life, at a luncheon, on Sunday, March 24. Please contact Lee Cohen for details if you wish to join us.