Shirley S Cohen

Shirley Irene Cohen (née Schottenstein), known to her family as simply “Bubbie,” passed away peacefully in her home on June 13, 2025, surrounded by her family. She was 98. Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1926, she was the third child and eldest daughter of nine children. She earned a degree in social work from The Ohio State University before moving to Miami in 1956 for her husband Albert’s residency, where she remained for the rest of her life. She returned to school in her 40s after raising her family and worked as a psychologist for many years.

Shirley had a colorful, larger than life personality. She gossiped, swore, and told dirty jokes. She loved to recount scandalous behavior of public figures, friends, and neighbors alike, mixing amusement, admiration, and disgust in equal parts when someone acted with unusual chutzpah. She watched the stock market religiously, making aggressive, long-term investments well into her 90s, and had a knack for picking winners, even for companies whose products she only dimly understood. She was a lover of fashion, favoring loud colors and textures and chunky, statement jewelry; she often invited her granddaughters to shop in her closet. Relentlessly frugal, she turned her nose up at fancy restaurants and department stores in favor of Panda Express, Big Lots, and the Dollar Store. A working-class girl at heart, she railed against the greed and corruption of Wall Street and Washington “crooks” and “gonifs,” then complained loudly to her accountant when he made her color inside the lines on her taxes. Her hysterical, profane e-mails were legendary, typed out letter-by-letter with one index finger on her iPad, and rife with misspellings and haphazard punctuation.

Shirley was upbeat, optimistic, and dignified in the face of hardship and disappointment. She lost her husband too early, and developed a tumor on her spine in her 60s that gradually took away her mobility, eventually confining her to a wheelchair. But she never, ever complained. She remained open and interested in the world, devouring current events, keeping up on pop culture, and frequently sharing good movie “write-ups,” a practice she continued long after she could no longer go see them. More than once she got the notion she would try to walk. A week before she passed, she insisted that her walker not be donated just in case she wanted to try again.

More than any of this, Shirley was the glue that held together her beloved family. She was the central hub of information, passing along the latest on life events and goings-on big and small. She never let anyone forget a birthday. Her grandchildren received frequent weather reports for every city where their cousins lived, and advice for how to dress for the weather where they lived. Peppering her family with letters sealed with kisses, e-mails, and voice messages, she’d receive so many calls in return that a lunch visitor might find themselves eating alone. One of the purest expressions of her love was pouring herself into cooking meals for dinner or big holidays, watching intently to make sure everyone enjoyed it. She was endlessly proud of everyone’s accomplishments, and endeavored to give everyone the kind of emotional support they needed.

She is survived by her children Jeri, Jeffrey, and Jay (Ellen) Cohen; grandchildren Arielle Angel, Daniel Cohen, Jessica Powers, David Angel, Libbie Wolkowitz, and Rachel Angel; and seven great-grandchildren.

Donations in Shirley’s honor can be made to the Women’s Emergency Network at wenfl.org or the American Macular Degeneration Foundation at macular.org.