Obituaries

“Rifky”
Ruth Rebecca Cohen
October 16, 1929 – November 22, 2020
It is with deep sorrow and profound love that we announce that our family lost our beloved
Ruth Cohen. Ruth, with the patented resilience she showed through a history of illnesses
including open heart surgery and breast cancer, fought for a long time through many recent
ailments. Ruth’s youngest son, Brett, was by her side when she passed comfortably in her
home in West Hollywood, CA. Ruth’s two oldest sons, Marc and Mitchell, and three of her
daughters-in-law, Lyn MacEwen Cohen, AnnaMarie Cohen, and Kelly Cohen, arrived soon
after. Ruth’s son, Alan, was with her when the family celebrated her birthday in October. She
was 91.
Ruth was a devoted wife to Bernie, her husband of 68 years, until his passing on August 14,
2016. Ruth, affectionately called “Rifky,” and Bernie were each other’s sweethearts. Bernie, a
Teamster, used to pick Ruth up in his truck and drive her to Thomas Jefferson High School in
the East New York section of Brooklyn. Ruth grew up with her three sisters, Gertrude, Shirley,
and Sylvia in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Later, Ruth and Bernie raised their four sons
in the Bayview Housing Projects in Canarsie.
For a number of years, Ruth worked as a “Gal Friday” for her brother-in-law who operated a
food brokerage in lower Manhattan. Her chief responsibility, and one she handled selflessly
and lovingly, was as mother to her four boys. Ruth and Bernie moved from Brooklyn to Ft.
Lauderdale, FL in 1974 and then to Los Angeles, CA in 1985. In South Florida and later in Los
Angeles, Ruth worked in the banking industry and was cherished by her clients and
coworkers. They would sit and wait just so they could speak with Ruth, who was able to speak
Yiddish with many of her older Jewish clientele.
Ruth was a loyal and loving mother and mother-in-law to Marc Cohen & Lyn MacEwen Cohen,
Mitchell Cohen & AnnaMarie Cohen, Alan Cohen & Charlene Cohen, and Brett Cohen & Kelly
Cohen. She is survived by her sister, Sylvia Pinto. Ruth was also an adoring grandmother to
seven grandchildren: Heather Trilling, Jessica Cohen, Amanda Cohen, Eric Knesz, Antonio
Cohen, Brandon Cohen, and Cody Cohen and four great-granddaughters: Catherine, Mia,
Caroline, and Peyton Trilling.
All her life, Ruth cared for her family, her constant priority, as well as her cheerful dog Rusty.
For years, Ruth was the glue who held her family together and the family, in turn, cared for her
in times of need. Her Aunt Sonia, an immigrant from Czarist Russia, said it best, “Rifky had a
brain and a heart.” Our entire family will miss her dearly.