Mark Cohen

March 15, 1975 – February 21, 2025

Mark Kenneth Cohen, 49, born March 15, 1975 in Brooklyn, NY, passed away on February 21, 2025 in New York City.

Mark leaves behind his loving wife of 7 years, Deborah (Debbie) Hidajat; two children, Skyler Max Hidajat Cohen & Sam Jacob Hidajat Cohen who reside in New York City.

He is survived by his mother, Ilene Cohen of Basking Ridge NJ; older brother Alan & sister-in-law Ann Scott of Hoover, AL; older sister Ilyssa & brother-in-law Steven Fox of Flemington NJ; nephew Bradley Shane and niece Emily Paige.

The son of Ilene Harriet and the late Jack Philip Cohen, Mark grew up in Freehold, NJ; attended Ohio University in Athens, OH; lived in Milwaukee and then Chicago; before returning to New York City in 2013 where he met his soulmate and future wife, Debbie.

Following his father’s footsteps, Mark has always had a passion for marketing, which is what he studied at Ohio University and created a career in it, starting with GMR Marketing, followed by Superfly where he was the Executive Vice President of Client Services; and for the past 9 years he was at ESL, world’s largest e-sports and gaming company. He joined ESL as Senior Vice President of Live Events and Experiences, then rose to become the Chief Relationship Officer of ESL FACEIT Group.

To summarize Mark’s life in terms of accomplishments and accolades would be a severe understatement. It was the way Mark lived his life, how he treated every day as a bonus day, and how he always chose the positive view and the gift of life, despite obstacles that were beyond his control. This is what truly defined Mark.

He loved deeply and unconditionally; his friendships are rich and long lasting. He was a true mensch with a sense of humor and warmth that would fill the whole room. He had an extremely strong work ethic, loved his work, and was a genius at building relationships and global partnerships.

Mark met his wife, Debbie, at Momofuku Ssam Bar in New York City, when he was finishing his lymphoma cancer treatment in August 2013. His honesty and passion for life blew Debbie away. Mark was determined to live and thrive despite the medical challenges. In Debbie, Mark met his match. Although Mark and Debbie were raised in different parts of the world, they shared the same values and bonded in their passion for food, travel, and excelling in their careers. Together, they traveled extensively and abroad including some favorites - Paris, Istanbul, Tokyo, Emilia Romagna, Venice, South Africa, Botswana, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, French Polynesia, Maldives and Dubai.

Mark loved good food especially great Omakase, chicken parmesan, stir fry crispy beef, tiramisu, Chips-A-Hoy cookies with grapes on top (best combo), ice cream (where he would buy 10 pints at a time), and all things chocolate. Mark and Debbie were known for ordering everything on the menu even to just try a bite.

Mark was always fashionable and hip in the way he dressed. He had his own unique blend of styles and brands which included Bape, Kith, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Nike, Panerai watches, Siegelman Stable, and a wide variety of hats.

They were married on July 16, 2017 at Daniel restaurant in New York City. They were blessed with the birth of their daughter Skyler Max in 2018 and son Sam Jacob in 2020. Mark loved being a father and was involved in all their day-to-day activities and interests. He was unparalleled at planning every detail of their family vacations. He protected his family fiercely with all that he had.

His dream was to pass his love of travel and adventure to his children. This came to fruition with a big trip that he took his family on 2 months before he passed – an 18 hour flight from New York to Singapore with 6 year old Skyler and 4 year old Sam; followed by Maldives and completing the trip in Dubai. He was so proud that Skyler and Sam loved traveling and embraced new experiences. He said that if this was the last trip his family took that he would be very proud and would have no regrets.

The funeral will be at 12pm on Tuesday, February 25 at Riverside Chapel, 333 Amsterdam Avenue (West 76th Street), New York, NY 10023, followed by graveside burial at 2pm at Sharon Gardens Cemetery, 273 Lakeview Avenue, Valhalla, NY 10595.

For those unable to attend the funeral in person, there will be a live webcast available - https://www.legacycelebrated.com/mark-cohen/

The family will sit shiva and receive visitors on Wednesday, February 26 at 20 Beehive Lane, Flemington, NJ 08822 from 2-4pm and 6:30 – 8:30pm; and on Thursday, February 27 at Arbor Terrace, 3066 Valley Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920 from 2-5pm.

The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - https://giving.mskcc.org/ in memory of Mark Kenneth Cohen.