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Obituary

Activist Miriam Cohen dies at 84

She and her husband leave a legacy of fighting to preserve the environment. Their ashes will be scattered on the Tsala Apopka lake chain.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT
Published April 16, 2005

INVERNESS - Together, Hank and Miriam Cohen paddled their small metal boat through the canals that snake through the Tsala Apopka lake chain, reporting news stories and marveling that they were getting paid to do what they loved.

Side by side they developed Cohen's photographs. He needed her to make sure the color was right since he suffered some colorblindness.

They stood next to each other before public boards, arguing points of law to protect the precious natural places that first drew them to settle in Citrus County 40 years ago.

Now the Cohens will make one final journey together.

Miriam Cohen died midday Friday (April 15, 2005) surrounded by her family. She was 84.

Her husband, 85, died in October. In the coming weeks, family will scatter the couple's ashes on the Tsala Apopka chain, which their environmental activism helped keep pristine.

"What we're going to do is spread them where they are supposed to be," said David, one of their sons.

Last week, Mrs. Cohen told a Citrus Times reporter about her plans to commit her late husband's ashes to his beloved Lake Tsala Apopka. It was supposed to happen on April 9, her 84th birthday.

Family matters had postponed the trip on the lake, but David Cohen called his mother that morning, anyway, to wish her a happy birthday. A trained firefighter, he knew right away that she needed immediate medical help.

He mobilized her neighbors, who rushed to call 911 and get her to Citrus Memorial Hospital.

David Cohen said it was too late by then. His mother had suffered a massive stroke.

Following her wishes - Mrs. Cohen was a Christian Scientist and had left a living will - the family refused extraordinary means and invasive procedures to keep Mrs. Cohen alive. She died Friday in a hospice room at the hospital.

A news hound all her live, Mrs. Cohen told a reporter last week how she hated to see what she considered a circus surrounding the death of Terri Schiavo.

At the same time, she was fascinated by the coverage of the pope's death. And as David Cohen sat on the phone with her Saturday morning, unable to get her to respond verbally, he could hear the news coverage of Charles and Camilla's royal wedding in the background.

"I really think that Miriam's journey was done," said David Cohen's wife, Gloria Bullman Cohen. "If she had lived another 20 years she would have stayed active and interested . . . but this was not a bad way. It was quick. She was surrounded by the people who loved her. She had a wonderful life, a very peaceful end, and she left a huge legacy."

The family is asking the community to join them in celebrating the couple from 3 to 6 p.m. May 1 on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse in downtown Inverness. Friends will host the event. People can share their memories of the Cohens and view a sampling of the clippings and photos of their lives.

Hank Cohen served one term on the Citrus County Commission, the first proenvironment and growth management candidate to win such a seat. He and his wife spearheaded numerous environmental causes since they arrived in Citrus, helping stop huge housing complexes from springing up in the sensitive lands around the Inverness lakes and the coastal regions west of U.S. 19.

Miriam Noble Brown was born in Brooklyn and met her future husband when she was working as a reporter and he a photographer at the Miami Herald.

"Their assignment editor kept putting them together and they'd fight and scrap," said David Cohen. "The next thing they knew, they were getting married."

In the early days they were more focused on fighting for civil rights rather than environmental issues. Mrs. Cohen once pushed to have the hospital where she was recovering from surgery allow women to smoke in their wards just as male patients were allowed.

In another case, a representative of the governor at the time met with leaders from the white and black communities at the Cohens' South Florida home to reach a compromise over differences.

In Citrus County, the Cohens were always seen as a pair.

"They were go-getters. They showed up at every meeting there was," friend Paul Pilny said recently. He recalled a small ceremony he once conducted in a scenic spot at the Flying Eagle Ranch, one of several properties the couple pushed to have placed in public ownership. While it appears on no map, there is a place there Pilny knows as Cohen Cove.

The county's development services director, Gary Maidhof, recently recalled that Hank Cohen had the style to make presentations, while his wife had the research skills to make the presentations effective.

Maidhof credited the Cohens with helping develop the comprehensive plan, which is the blueprint for development in Citrus County.

"We're starting to see the founders of the comprehensive plan passing away," Maidhof said. "We owe a lot to these folks."

Mrs. Cohen is survived by her sons Slater and David, both Orange County firefighters; her daughter-in-law, Gloria; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

No formal funeral is planned, and the family is working to organize a scholarship in the Cohens' name. They also are building a Web site in their honor. When ready, it will be found at www.hankandmiriamcohen.com

When Mrs. Cohen spoke about her husband last week, she talked about her fear that some of the battle to save the environment had been lost. On Friday, her son said he hopes his parents' legacy lives on much longer.

"For Mom and Dad, I'd like to throw down the challenge torch and hope that someone will pick that thing up and run with it," he said. "Those are just causes that need to be fought for."

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 564-3621 or behrendt@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 16, 2005, 02:45:13]