In Memory

Miss Dorothy Cohen (Faculty)

Miss Dorothy Cohen (Faculty)

Obituary for Sarah Dorothy Cohen, The Natchitoches Times, August 24, 2004:

"Strength and honor are her clothing; She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness."  Proverbs 31:25-26.

Sarah  Dorothy Cohen died peacefully on Friday, August 20, 2004.  She was a true native of the historic Cane River Lake, Louisiana, having been born there on March 26, 1914 to Hyman and Sarah Dorothy Wallenberg Cohen.  She was the eldest of four children growing up on the family's Lakeview Plantation, between Melrose and Magnolia Plantations.

Services were held at 10 a.m. at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home on Tuesday, August 24, followed by internment at Fern Park Cemetery.

"Miss Cohen," as she was affectionately known by generations of students and friends, was a graduate of Natchitoches High School.  She earned her BA degree and teaching certificate from Louisiana State Normal College (NSU) in 1934.  She was active in numerous campus organizations.  Inspired with the desire to learn, she set forth on a remarkable educational goal for her time.  She attended Columbia University, NYC, NC where she received her MA degree in English.

With a graduate degree in hand, she returned to her beloved Natchitoches area to teach English at Natchitoches High School.  Hundreds of young students at Natchitoches HIgh School and at Northwestern benefited from her role as a teacher and a supervisor.  She found the extra time needed to serve as advisor to "The Chinquapin" (NHS yearbook), and her touch remains within the copies found in libraries of NHS alumni.

She was named to the honorary fraternity of Phi Beta Kappa.  She was founding member of Geronimo Book Club, a member of the Natchitoches Garden Club and a member of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches where she served several years on the Board of Directors.  She was a member of the congregation of St. Augustine Catholic Church at Isle Brevelle.

Perhaps one of her most profound influences can be found on the increasingly recognized Cane River plantation trail.  Spending her childhood at Lakeview, she could not ber to let the history of the area go unrecognized.  Acting in her role as an Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches Board member, she significantly influenced the establishment of the Melrose Historic Home Foundation.  Her rrecognition of and involvement with Clementine Hunter in her earlies days inspired others to give note to Hunter as an artistic historian of a period and time fast fading.  Dot devoted her retirement years fully to Melrose.  Through her efforts and those of countless others she inspired, Melrose, andits heritage of artists, writers andplanters, is now a thriving tourist attraction in Louisiana, reflecting a bygone period of prosperity and culture on Cane River Lake.

Dorothy was recognized for her preservation efforts when one of two 200-year-old oak tress at historic Melrose was named for her, the other being named for Cammie Garrett Henry.  She was presented a certificate from the Live Oak Society of Louisiana commemorating this event.

Her brothers, Hyman Charles Cohen and Morris Simon Cohen, as well as brother-in-law, Thomas Buffington Beale Jr., and sister-in-law, Virginia May Brinkley Cohen, preceded her in death.

Survivors include one sister, Lillian Cohen Beale of Baton Rouge; one sister-in-law, and Lillian Bell Cohen of Natchitoches.  Surviving nieces and nephews are Barbara Anne Cohen of Cane River, Rebecca Beale Browning, R. Reed Browning and Mary Patricia Beale, all of Baton Rouge, Barry M. Cohen of Streetman, Texas, J. Craig Cohen, Ph.D., and Jan Larson, M.D., of Mandeville, Bradford L. Cohen and Gayle Bellemin Cohen of Lafayette, Cathy Cohen Lepley and James M. Lepley of Raleigh, N.C., and Kelly Cohen Lavercombe and Richard G. Lavercombe of Houston.

Memorial contributions may be made to Melrose Historic Home, c/o Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, P.O. Box 2448, Natchitoches, LA  71457.

 







agape