Helen Cohen

Helen Cohen, Kansas City, MO, died June 18, 2005, of complications following surgery. She was born in Brooklyn, NY, on August 21, 1934, to Harriet and Sol Jacobson. She attended Hunter College, where she received a BA in international affairs, and had graduate degrees in education from Temple University in Philadelphia, and UMKC. In 1957, she married Harvey Cohen, who died in 1999, with whom she had three children. Helen Cohen was a passionate advocate of progressive political causes. Throughout her life, she was active in labor movements, civil rights, human rights, and women’s rights organizations. She was for many years the president of the Kansas City chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, as well as an active member of other gay advocacy groups. She also worked tirelessly in the causes of global peace and justice. Her professional experience as an educator included working as a teacher, specialist, and administrator in elementary and secondary schools in New York, Philadelphia, and Kansas City, teaching graduate courses in education, and serving as an educational researcher and administrator. Helen was a vivacious lover of life who traveled extensively, particularly in Latin America, and had friends across the country and the world. She is lovingly remembered by her brother Robert Jacobson, of New York; her children Charlotte Cohen and Rachel DeSario, New York, and William Cohen, Washington, DC; three grandchildren, Dante, Lorenzo, and Rosa DeSario; and many devoted friends and relatives. Donations can be made in Helen’s name to ACLU, Planned Parenthood, or PFLAG. There will be a celebration of her life at an open house in her home Wednesday, June 22, 6:30-9 p.m. Parking is limited.