Solomon J. Cohen

Dr. Solomon J. Cohen, beloved pediatrician in Westfield, NJ for 43 years, died at Overlook Hospital, Summit, NJ on January 8, 2013, of complications due to kidney failure. He was 87. Dr. Cohen was born in the Bronx, NY, attended city schools, graduated from Cornell in 1944 and then joined the Navy. He served in the Pacific during WWII. After discharge, he taught Chemistry at Cooper Union in New York City while awaiting admission to medical school. In 1951 he graduated from Johns Hopkins medical school in Baltimore, Md., was chief resident at Hopkins, then a resident at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1954 he became a partner in the Westfield Pediatric Group. Dr. Cohen served as a trustee of the Westfield Red Cross, a trustee of the Presbyterian Church Nursery School and a trustee of the Westfield Daycare Center. He was proud of his term on the Westfield School Board (1968 - 1971) where he was an advocate for sex education in the schools. He also continued his connection with Columbia where he was an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics. He taught and mentored residents at Columbia and also had residents rotating through his Westfield office to gain firsthand experience in a private professional setting. He retired from practice in 1997. After retirement, he organized a volunteer program in the Pediatric Emergency room at Columbia for retired colleagues. In 2000 he was invited to Kosovo as a consulting pediatrician to a children's hospital where he taught physicians, whose training had been disrupted by the war in Kosovo. During his early years Dr. Cohen was a gifted athlete: sprinting in the Millrose Games, playing on the Cornell football team and playing tennis in Westfield. Dr. Cohen maintained homes in Kennebunkport, Maine and also at Winchester Gardens in Maplewood, New Jersey. He was a Commodore of the Goose Rocks Beach Yacht Club. He is survived by his wife, Dorcas (nee Hamilton); two children, Carolyn Betheil (Stuart) and Jonathan (Cindy): two stepchildren, Lisa Gonnella (Anthony) and James Cofer (Leslie). A third stepchild Caitlin Cofer Rotchford died in 2004. Grandchildren include Kristin, Megan, Amanda, Jarek, Trevor, Peter, James, John, Lucas, Kyra and two great-grandchildren, Ashley and Evan. He is also survived by a brother: Herbert Cohen and wife of Diane of Boynton Beach, FL. A celebration of his life will be held at a time to be announced later. Memorial contributions may be made to the Overlook Foundation for the Pediatric Department, 36 Upper Overlook Road, P.O. Box 220, Summit, New Jersey, 07902. Arrangements by Gray Funeral Directors, Westfield, A Life Celebration Home.