Juanita Cohen Storey

JUANITA COHEN STOREY
Juanita "Nita" Storey died peacefully on January 11th, 2024 in St. Augustine, FL at age 85 after a short illness.
Born on February 24th, 1938 to the late (Ransom) Carl and Lottie Cohen (nee Kendrick), she graduated from The Walden School. She continued on to Radcliffe College (Harvard University), from which she graduated as president of her class in 1959. She obtained her master's degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. While an undergraduate she met Harvard student Robert Storey ("Bob"), who became her husband of 64 years. The two raised a family in Cleveland Heights, OH.
Nita's career in education spanned many facets. She taught American history and civics in the Cleveland public school system. Her publications include the textbooks "The Negro American: His Role, His Quest" as co-author (Cleveland Public Schools) and "Ohio: the Buckeye State" as contributor (Prentice Hall). She later worked for Cleveland Scholarship Programs, Inc. (now College Now Greater Cleveland), first as a college counselor and ultimately as the Director of Financial Aid.
In Cleveland her civic involvement was extensive. She was the first African American member of the Junior League of Cleveland and was also president of the local chapter of the Links, Inc., a national social and service organization committed to enriching the culture and economic survival of African Americans. She was a trustee of the WVIZ public television station and served on The Junior Women's Committee of The Cleveland Orchestra (now Friends of the Cleveland Orchestra). She sat on the grant distribution committee of the Jennings Foundation, and was board chair of the Benjamin Rose Institute. She was a trustee of Radcliffe College, and her personal oral history is part of a collection at the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard.
Her hobbies included reading history and biographies, needlepoint, and playing bridge and the piano. She regularly attended the theater and enjoyed classic films. Above all, she enjoyed traveling with her husband during retirement. Her dad loved the Brooklyn Dodergers and her mother was a Yankees fan; as a girl she followed both teams but later came to split the difference by cheering for the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians). Nita and Bob were fortunate to spend time in homes in Cleveland, St. Augustine, FL; Chautauque, NY; and Paris, France and joyfully shared them with family and friends.
She is survived by her husband, Robert; children Charles ("Chip"), of St. Augustine, FL, Christopher (Andrea Streit) of Paris, France, Rebecca (Neal Simpson), of Cleveland Heights, OH; grandsons Joseph and Jacob, and of Paris, France, and extended family in different parts of the U.S.
A private remembrance service is planned for August of 2024 at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. The family suggests that Memorial donations may be made to Flagler College, 74 King Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084 (earmarked The Robert D. and Juanita C. Storey Scholarship Fund for Minority Students); Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main Street, Exeter, NH 03833-2460 (earmarked the Exeter Need Blind Admissions fund); or, to Spelman College, 350 Spelman Lane S.W. Atlanta, GA 30314-4399.