Morris Stanley Cohen

Morris Stanley Cohen, born in Brooklyn, NY., was proud to be a first generation American. The 1950 Kings County, NY census shows his father, Benjamin Cohen, was born in Odessa, Russia (now Ukraine). According to Mo, his father escaped Russia in the bottom of a hay wagon with a rifle for protection. He made his way to London, then Canada, possibly Halifax, where he became a citizen. The story goes that Benjamin made his way to the U.S. around the early 1920s and became a union organizer in the ladies’ garment industry. He worked as a presser of ladies’ dresses.

Benjamin would go to work at 7 am in a large room with hundreds of people. He used a huge iron filled with hot coal to press ladies’ dresses all day. The steel doors were closed and not opened until 11:30 for a 30-minute lunch. The doors would then close again until 6 pm at the end of the workday.

Mo’s father was 52 and his mother was 40 when he was born. His Ancestry DNA profile shows that he was 100% Ashkenazi Jew. Mo was very proud of being Jewish. He actually attended a yeshiva for a period of time as a child. Later in life he didn’t attend synagogue, though he continued to celebrate Hanukkah. Being Jewish was his cultural identity.

Mo was the youngest of four. His sister Helen was the eldest, followed by his brother Sydney, and his sister Fagy. When Mo was 9, his mother died. Life was a challenge in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn. Mo’s dream was to get out of Brooklyn as fast as possible.

After serving in the Air Force, Mo married his first wife, Audrey, in the early 60s and was blessed with the birth of his daughter Stephanie followed by his son Joshua. Mo earned his Bachelor’s degree in accounting at City College of New York. As he furthered his career in accounting and finance, the young family lived in Flushing, Queens, NY for 9 years then Hollywood, Florida for a year then Monroe in upstate NY. They made the move cross country to Orange County, CA in 1977. He held numerous positions and at one point was the CFO of the Queen Mary.

Stephanie has fond memories of riding bikes with her father as a young child: “Dad and I would ride bikes when I was 5 to a candy store where I was allowed to get 1 Chocolate pop.” When they lived in upstate NY, “Dad would chop wood in the backyard with a Wedge and Axe and Josh and I would pull the logs to the house on our sled when we were 10 and 12.”

Mo had very eclectic music tastes. He liked gospel, blues, jazz, rock, classical, show tunes, etc. Stephanie said,“Dad loved the Rolling Stones and we would listen to (their music) when we had to clean the house on the weekends.” Mo and Josh shared an interest in rock music including Bob Seger, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, and Led Zeppelin.

Around 2000, Mo traveled to China twice to teach finance for a month at Yanshan University in Qinhuangdao along with his brother Sydney, sister-in-law Gerry, daughter Stephanie, and son-in-law Michael. Stephanie remembers being “all wrapped up with scarves, hats and gloves because it was winter on the coast 3 hours south of Beijing and there was no heat in the classrooms. Dad had on a ski hat and we were all bundled up.” They had “fun explaining capitalism to the Chinese college students and how in America you could own a $1000 or a $100,000 car and there was opportunity for everyone to work and purchase items. You could buy a cup of tea for $99 cents or for $8 dollars depending on the business.”

His son-in-law Michael’s favorite memory with Mo in China was “being pulled in a rickshaw by a skinny man from Tiananmen Square. Also, sliding down a huge slide with him from the Great Wall of China.”

In the early 2000s, Mo decided to make a change and started a new adventure in Texas. He had been going to Houston for many years to check on his rental properties. In August 2003 his former business partner’s brother found a loft downtown in the Bayou Lofts building at the corner of Franklin and Travis which Mo rented sight unseen. It was a corner unit with floor to ceiling windows and views to the south and west.

Almost daily, Mo would walk to the Downtown Y to work out, going through the underground tunnel system during the heat of the summer. In his younger years, he was an avid racquetball player, but gave that up when he injured his eye. He was proud of the fact that he was healthy and fit, having lost 75 pounds years before.

In October 2004 Mo’s life would change forever when he met the love of his life, Karen George. They connected online on Match(dot)com (It does work out sometimes!). Their first meeting was on an early voting day for the 2004 presidential election. Karen was voting at the West Gray Multiservice Center, so they agreed to meet at the Starbucks at the corner of Shepherd and West Gray. Back then there were two competing Starbucks right across the street from each other. They met at the one on the south side of the street, and because neither of them drank coffee at the time, they proceeded across the street to Jamba Juice where they spent three hours talking!

Mo and Karen took advantage of the many entertainment opportunities downtown: shows at the Hobby, fairs at Market Square Park, movies at the Angelika Theater, dinner at Mia Bella and other restaurants close by. They even attended the Art Car Parade and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade one year.

In late 2005 Mo and Karen decided to get a place together. Mo took her to see a three-story townhouse in the Museum District that he had scouted out earlier. There was actually another couple in the house when they went to look at it. Mo gave a better bid (cash!) and purchased it. They moved in December 2005.

As Mo was retired and Karen was still working, Mo became the “official” cook of the household preparing various dishes as he honed his culinary skills.

Over the years they’ve enjoyed the Holocaust Museum Houston, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Miller Outdoor Theater, Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Houston Zoo. The last two holiday seasons, Stephanie and Michael visited and they all experienced the Zoo Lights together including hot pretzels!

Mo and Karen have had many wonderful neighbors over the years including Rick and Lali, Jeff and Barbara, Michael and Lauren, Dewei and Sherry, and Michael.

In 2008 Mo and Karen got married at a lovely wedding hosted by their friends Barbara and David. Mo said Karen told him she’d never get married again. She doesn’t remember that. Anyway, the third time was the charm for both of them!

For Josh’s 50th birthday in 2016, Mo and Karen made special trip to California to celebrate. Mo and Josh took a father/son outing to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and made a day of it. They also enjoyed visiting other zoos over the years including the Central Park Zoo and the Bronx Zoo.

Travel was an activity they relished. Mo and Karen went on four cruises including Mexico and Belize, New England/Canada, the Caribbean, and a dream vacation to the Eastern Mediterranean (including ports in Italy, Croatia, Turkey, and Greece). They also traveled to Ireland, Las Vegas four times (to meet up with Stephanie, Michael, and Josh), Albuquerque (for the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival), Cancun, San Francisco/LA, Aruba, South Carolina, Jamaica, San Diego, Quebec City/Montreal, and NYC three times including twice at Christmas (which is the absolute best time to go!).

Earlier this year Karen and Mo celebrated their 17th anniversary in April at Fleming’s Steakhouse. Karen is grateful she had 15 1/2 more years with Mo after he experienced an aortic dissection in January 2010. They were so fortunate that Dr. Anthony Estrera and his team at Memorial Hermann saved Mo’s life. Karen and Mo had many years together filled with wonderful experiences with friends and family.

Karen wishes to thank her childhood friends Cindy, Barbara, Lynette, Lorrie, Kris, and Darla for their support during this challenging time.

Mo is survived by his wife, Karen George; daughter & son-in-law, Stephanie & Michael Clark; son Joshua; sister-in-law Gerry Costa; nieces Eileen Dolinski (Hy), Wendy Millstein, Lynn Steinhauer, Susan Lennon (Llewellyn), Elaine Perry (David); and their families.

The Memorial Service for Morris Cohen will be held on Saturday, August 16th at 11 am at Earthman Funeral Home, 4525 Bissonnet St., Bellaire, TX 77401 with brunch/lunch to follow from 12 noon – 2 pm at the same location.

If you are so moved, please consider donating in Mo’s name to Holocaust Museum Houston, website: HMH.org. Click on “Give” then “Make a Donation” or call 713-942-8000.