Peter Maxwell Cohen

Peter Maxwell Cohen, 83, artist, fisherman, designer and businessman was born of Arthur and Judith Cohen on April 28,1942 in Manhattan. He passed away peacefully on September 15, 2025 at home in Evanston, Illinois.

Peter was a very talented and multi-faceted man with an exuberant personality. He made people laugh. He was a master of accents and always had a lot of stories to tell. Whether it was a dinner party, a class he was teaching, a gathering to talk about investments or books or current events, he had much input and enthusiasm.

He showed a talent for drawing and painting at an early age and was admitted to the prestigious High School of Music and Art in NYC. He subsequently graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Interior Design.

His career included commercial interior design, real estate development, design education and later in retirement, fishing guide services in Wisconsin.

In 1968, after military service with the Army National Guard, and working for an office design firm in New York, he was sent to Chicago for opportunities during a high-rise construction period. There he established himself in the design/architecture and commercial real estate realm, met and married his second wife, Connie and stayed in the area for the next almost 60 years.

He painted landscapes of Wisconsin, obtained commissions, and displayed and sold his art in the resort town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

In addition to art, his second great passion was fishing. Ever since his grandfather taught him to fish at a young age, Peter loved to be out on a lake or at a beach casting his line. In fact, after fishing in Lake Geneva with a guide for several years, he knew the lake so well, he became a fishing guide himself. Two or three days a week from May to November, he could be found in his boat out on the lake and for many years, he and Connie would drive to south Florida to join friends and fish off the beach for a month in the spring.

He leaves to cherish his memory: his wife, Connie, daughters Jillian and Corey, son-in-law, David, stepdaughters Linda and Laura, grandchildren, Eli, Jacob, Henry and Hazel, brother James, sister-in-law, Ellen, step-niece, Neysa and a host of friends.

He shared his love of art, sports, reading, fishing, and the great outdoors with others and was loved by many. The world is a duller place without him in it.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society." 

Celebration of Life has been finalized. It is April 26, 2026