Obituary of Norma Elsie Cohen

Norma Cohen died of kidney failure in the early hours of July 24, 2020, in Sacramento, California. She was 91. She did not die alone, as so many have this year, but was surrounded by family that loved and cared for her during her last year. She is predeceased by her infant son, Mark Cohen, her daughter Rebecca Cohen and her husband of 48 years, Reverend Francis E. Cohen.

Norma was born in Long Beach, CA where her father worked as a pipefitter in the oil fields of Signal Hill. She had a happy childhood with her three brothers (predeceased) and sister. In her long life, she cheated death many times, beginning at age four when she followed her older brothers in jumping off the garage roof, not noticing their landing on the lawn. She landed on the driveway with a broken hip. Only days later she survived the 1933 earthquake that devastated parts of Long Beach and Los Angeles. She shared vivid memories of being flat on her back in a wagon, pulled by her mother, looking up at chimneys, the only things still standing from many of the ruined homes in her neighborhood.

For the rest of her life, Norma walked with a limp but never considered herself ‘that crippled girl’. When she became engaged to Francis Cohen, her mother warned him that she would never bear children because of her childhood injury. They married anyway as he continued his military training as a Marine in Camp LeJeune, NC and later pursued seminary at Drury University, in Springfield, MO. After many years of church service in the Midwest, they returned to the Golden State with seven children in tow and spent most of their remaining years in southern California.

Norma was a joy, full of life and the spirit of adventure. She was all about the journey, not the destination. She was a woman of faith who did her best to live Judeo- Christian values during her earthbound life, not just talk about them. She did not engage in gossip or speak ill of anyone. She put high value on honesty and forgiveness, love and family; a model for all of her family to emulate.

Norma was a beloved wife and mother. She spent her entire life caring for others. She was honest, kind and generous. She possessed a wonderful sense of humor, best displayed when she traveled to the Midwest to visit her younger sister, Sharon Greski, of Moose Lake, MN.  In her late eighties, she enlisted the aid of her daughters and nieces to throw, in advance,  a 100^th birthday party for her and her sister complete with pink and purple wigs, tiaras, and balloons. She instructed every family member, even the great grandchildren to wear a name-tag with the date of their own 100^th birthday. We all hoped she would actually make it to 100, because in addition to her other sterling qualities, Norma possessed a strong constitution, so strong that even at 91 her sudden decline shocked her family. But there was much to be grateful for. Norma passed peacefully in her daughter’s home, with loved ones in close attendance. She had no pain, and no regrets. But she did have her faith and was ready to ‘go home’.

Norma Cohen was greatly loved and will be greatly missed by her surviving children:  Steve Cohen of Ridgecrest, CA; John Cohen of DuPont, WA; Deborah Abdi of Ridgecrest, CA; Wesley Abdi, Mary Borger of Browns Valley, CA; Margaret Call of Sacramento, CA; Ruth Witteried of Vancouver, WA; and Jennifer Ogle of Napa, CA, her 23 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. She will be buried at the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA along side her beloved husband.