THEODORE COHN

COHN--Theodore, a man of many gifts, died March 18, three months shy of his 98th birthday. Born in Newark, NJ to Julius H. Cohn and Bessie Einson, he was raised in South Orange, NJ. Upon graduating from Harvard College in 1943, majoring in American Literature and History, he served as a sergeant major in a quartermaster battalion in Europe and then as a reports editor for one of the post-OSS (predecessor to the CIA) secret intelligence groups in Vienna. In 1946, he married Dina Ardith Berkson, a surgical nurse. He received an MA in psychology at Columbia and later did graduate work at NYU. His first job was as the boys camp director of Camp Modin in Canaan, Maine, a Conservative Jewish summer camp co-founded by his mother-in-law, Libbie Berkson. Soon after their first son Don was born, Ted went to work at J.H. Cohn and Co. in Newark, NJ, an accounting firm started by his father, that grew into one of the largest private accounting firms in New Jersey and is still active today, having merged in 2012 to become CohnReznick. The family made West Orange, NJ their home. Before long, son Jordan and daughter Karen joined the family. Ted played music with Don, attended every high-school basketball game of Jordan's and hit tennis balls weekly with Karen. In the early 1970s, after having been the managing partner for 11 years at J.H Cohn and Co., he struck out on his own as a management consultant, specializing in family-owned businesses and executive compensation. He sat on numerous advisory boards and spoke at business conventions both domestically and internationally. He was the author of hundreds of business-related articles, pamphlets, and books, including Survival and Growth: Management Strategies for the Small Firm, Compensating Key Executives in the Smaller Company and, with Roy Lindberg, WAYMISH- Why Are You Making It So Hard for Me to Give You My Money? In 1973, he and lifelong friend Dr. Leo Siegel bought property on the Bagaduce River in South Penobscot, Maine, and along with their wives, built summer homes--a place he treasured for the rest of his life. After Dina died in 1985, he met Alice Ginott, a psychotherapist, at a Young Presidents Organization event in New Delhi, India and they married in 1986. Ted moved to Manhattan, and together they enjoyed a full life of music, work, and travel. Alice died in 2016 following a debilitating illness, during which Ted was a dedicated and patient caretaker. Ted's interests varied widely. He was a champion amateur tennis player, good enough to play in the Senior Doubles tournament at Forest Hills and was an active runner and sailor. He was an avid pianist and recorder player. He read voraciously, housed a fine collection of rare books, and assembled a collection of several hundred composers' letters that said something personal about the composer's relationship to music and life, rather than debts, royalties and deadlines. After Alice died, he maintained a near-manic schedule of concert-going, classes, lectures and dining out, while cherishing his role as paterfamilias. In his early nineties, with his two elder grandsons in the driver's seat, he fulfilled a final bucket list item visiting the five U.S. states he'd never been to. That lifestyle only ceased when congestive heart failure slowed his pace at the age of 96. Ted was exceptionally generous to family members, caregivers and numerous philanthropies. He continued to expand his network of meaningful relationships until the end. Having lived through 18 presidential administrations, he remained a committed progressive and identified as a Jewish humanist, eschewing ritual and religious belief. His long life, keen intelligence, and powerful memory provided a wealth of stories as well as sage advice for family and friends. Until recently he was compiling his thoughts on business and life, the gist of which are: ignorance is infinite; life is random; and the important things in life --love and friendship--are immeasurable. He leaves his children Don (Saeko), Jordan, Karen (Edward), step-daughter Roz, grandchildren Noah, Libbie, Julian and Leon, step-grandchildren Allegra and Eli and sister, Amy.