Christopher John Cohan

La Mesa, California - Chris Cohan passed away on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the age of 92. He died peacefully, after battling Alzheimer’s Disease for years. Chris was born in Albany, New York in 1932, to the late Timothy Francis Cohan and Gertrude (Lally) Cohan. He was the oldest of three sons and had a childhood that was the source of many tales of mischief and adventure. He was a loving husband, father of four, grandfather of eleven and great-grandfather of two.

Chris attended Vincentian Institute at Our Lady of Lourdes parochial school in Albany, New York and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1957, with a Master’s Degree in Astronautics. He was accepted to Cornell University’s doctorate program in Astronautical Engineering. However, while in San Diego, California for a summer internship at General Dynamics Aerospace Corporation he met the love of his life, Celia Roano and he decided to forego the doctorate program and accepted a permanent position with General Dynamics, in order to stay close to Celia. Chris and Celia were married on April 12, 1958 and moved to La Mesa, California where they raised their four children and resided for over 60 years.

Chris and Celia were very active with Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, where their children attended parochial school. Their oldest son, Chris (Christopher T.) is married to Elena with three children, Stephanie, Bryce and Kevin; their daughter Liza (Elizabeth) Jonsson is married to Tom with two children, Stefan and Erik; Mike (Michael) is married to Regina with three children, Hannah, Claire (preceded him in death) and Spencer; and Joe (Joseph) is married to Katherine with three children, Matthew, Robert, Abigail and two grandchildren Clarissa and Christian.

Chris was a rocket scientist who became the Vice President of the Convair Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Aerospace Corporation. He first worked on the Atlas Rockets and then pioneered the Space Shuttle, authoring the planning documents for that program. He was the chief engineer of the highly classified DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) project for designing a long-range stealth cruise missile. He firmly believed the Advanced Cruise Missile (ACM) he designed, was one of the key final straws that brought down the Soviet Union. Chris became the General Dynamic representative to the Space System Committee of America in 1976. In 1978 he authored the book Space Transportation Systems, as Volume 1 of AIAA aerospace assessment series, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He also testified as an expert before Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding both the space shuttle and cruise missile projects.

Chris was selected by his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, as the man the Year in 1969, and he was awarded the plaque to commemorate this honor in a ceremony at the Notre Dame Club of San Diego. 

Chris always had time for his family, planning week-long summer family vacations and outings to the beach, mountains, amusement parks, etc. Chris enjoyed traveling the world with his soulmate, Celia; gardening, with his roses being the envy of the neighborhood; photography, having his own darkroom and documenting his family’s growth and adventures, as well as his many hobbies; fishing; coaching Little League baseball; creating HO model train layouts. Chris was also an avid, amusing and informative storyteller, both verbally and in writing, going so far as to document over 300 anecdotes and tales of his life that he shared with family and friends after taking writing classes in his retirement.

Chris is survived by his loving children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and his brother William. Chris was preceded in death by his loving wife, Celia and brother, Timothy in 2022.