Arlene Sylvia Cohen

Arlene S. Cohen (nee Pollack), age 91, died peacefully on February 6, 2025, after a lengthy illness. She was the beloved wife for 65 years of the late Gerald Cohen; devoted mother of Dr. Mark (Stacia) Cohen, Denise (Dr. Scott) Heller, and Dr. Roxane Cohen (Moe Farsheed); loving grandmother of Dr. Michael (Kacey) Heller, Nicole (Andrew) Goulston, Dr. Daniel Heller, Dr. Adam (Shannon) Farsheed, Cooper Cohen, and Charles Cohen, and two great-grandchildren Ethan and Eli Heller; devoted daughter of the late Eva and Albert Pollack, and dear sister of the late Howard, Julius, and Rueben Pollack.

Arlene was an elegant woman born during the Great Depression, and she bemoaned the fact that she was never able to attend college as a young woman. But as an adult she became a creative and accomplished interior designer, attending design school at the Art Institute of Chicago while raising her three children. She had an eye for color, and she created beautiful homes for family and clients. For many decades she had a successful furniture store on Peterson Avenue, Arlene Interiors, which was next door to her husband's business. But her primary focus was creating a beautiful life for her husband and family, dressing up to attend parties and charitable events, and cruising around the world (while sitting at the Captain's dinner table, which gave her husband great joy). She was often stopped in restaurants and confused for Joan Collins or Elizabeth Taylor.

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2025, 1:00 pm at Weinstein & Piser Funeral Home, 111 Skokie Blvd, Wilmette, IL 60091. A private interment will follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to City of Hope, www.cityofhope.org, where her mother volunteered for decades, or to a charity of your choice.