Beatrice Elizabeth Kohn

Beatrice Elizabeth Kohn

Beatrice Elizabeth Kohn, 89, of Medford, died peacefully on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at the Rogue Valley Manor Health Center.

Bea was born August 10, 1920, in Troy, N.Y., to Dora and Morris Chaimowitz. She was the sixth of their seven children, following the death of an infant sister during the 1918 flu epidemic. Death almost took Bea in 1955, but she fought hard, survived and treasured life for many years thereafter.

Bea married Malcolm "Mickey" Kohn on January 3, 1941, in New York. Their marriage was a real love match from beginning to end. She worked as an executive secretary for Max Factor cosmetics and later with her husband at their family business, Buckeye Printing Company.

Bea had a keen sense of humor, a captivating smile, and was passionate about her family. After retirement Bea and Mickey followed their son, Bob, to Texas, where they were active members of Congregation Beth Shalom in Arlington. After her husband's death in 1992, Bea moved to the Rogue Valley Manor Retirement Center in Medford, to be near her other son Bill and his family in Grants Pass. She was able to apply her expert typing skills to use the Internet into her early 80s and kept in touch with her growing family until her death.

Bea is survived by her two sons, Bob Kohn (wife, Elizabeth) of Birmingham, Ala., and Dr. Bill Kohn (wife, Carolyn) of Grants Pass; six grandchildren, Renee' Kohn, Alan Kohn, Tyler Kohn, Eleanor Brown, Stephanie Blakeman, and Metta Willey; and 10 great-grandchildren, with another due this spring.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2010, in the Sunrise Room at the Rogue Valley Manor Care Suites, 1250 Mira Mar Avenue in Medford. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association or the Rogue Valley Manor Health Center Fund. Interment will be in Arlington, Texas, by the side of her husband, Mickey. Her family will miss her and cherish her memory.