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Obituary

Immigrant made mark in business

The mother of prominent Tampa attorney Barry Cohen also was a leader in the Jewish community.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published August 18, 2006

By MARTY CLEAR

BAYSHORE BEAUTIFUL - Some years ago, in a video prepared by her family, Rhea Cohen sat in her living room, recalling her younger years.

"It was a heck of a struggle, but somehow you make it," Mrs. Cohen said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Despite intense obstacles, Mrs. Cohen became a successful local businesswoman and leader in the Jewish community. She died Aug. 11 after a few weeks of declining health.

Her family didn't know her exact age. She was born in Poland and said there was no record of her birth. By all indications, she was probably 93 or 94.

"She may have known (her age) and she may not have," said her son, prominent Tampa attorney Barry Cohen.

"She always said she didn't know because there were no birth certificates in Europe at that time."

She wasn't even sure of her birthday, her son said. The family celebrated it every year, but the exact date was rather fluid.

"It changed over the years," he said. "It ended up being Jan. 15."

Mrs. Cohen, who was born Rhea Greenberg, fled Poland with her family when she was a young girl. They traveled to America in the steerage section of the ship, which meant they had no food privileges. Their mother ate virtually nothing on the long trip across the Atlantic; whatever food she could get went to Rhea and her sisters.

They joined their father and settled in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he owned a candy store that barely supported the family.

She started working as a legal secretary when she was 16 years old.

She used to tell the story of how, in 1929, she overheard attorneys talking about a possible run on the banks. She was still a teenager, but she understood the seriousness of the impending problem and told her parents to immediately take the family's money out of the bank, helping to save them from disaster.

She met her first husband, Irving Cohen, on the Staten Island ferry. After dating for three years, they married on Nov. 30, 1935.

Early on, they struggled financially.

"I don't think that a marriage that was as tough as that could exist today," Mrs. Cohen said on the video. "No way."

They left their home in Brooklyn for a business opportunity in North Carolina. Soon after, they moved to Jacksonville to open a hamburger stand.

They sold the business to the Krystal burger chain in 1953 and moved to Tampa, where the couple settled in Culbreath Bayou and opened Hope Salvage and Metal at the Port of Tampa.

The entire family worked in the business. Mrs. Cohen, who had limited formal education, had enough drive and innate business sense that she became the company's president, a rarity for women at the time.

Irving Cohen died in 1975. A few years later, Mrs. Cohen married Larry Schwartz. They lived at the Atrium on Bayshore Boulevard until he died 15 years later. Most recently, she lived in the Grand Court on Bayshore.

Throughout her life, she was dedicated to her business, family and religion. She was active in the Jewish community and was one of the founding members of Congregation Rodeph Sholom.

"She was very strong-willed, but she was never a strict disciplinarian," Barry Cohen said. "She didn't break your spirit, and she has three very spirited children. She was always there to comfort us, and to be a rock when we needed that."

Besides her son, Mrs. Cohen is survived by daughters Hope Barnett and Sylvia Wright, one sister, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

[Last modified August 17, 2006, 10:59:28]