Ilene Harriet Cohen

She was predeceased by her devoted husband of 55 years, Jack Philip Cohen and her son, Mark Kenneth Cohen. Her legacy includes her children, Alan Yale & Ann Scott Cohen, of Hoover, AL; Ilyssa Sue & Steven Fox, of Flemington, NJ; and Debbie Hidajat Cohen of Manhattan, NY; her four cherished grandchildren - who lovingly called her “Meema” - Bradley Shane and Emily Paige Fox; and Skyler Max and Sam Jacob Hidajat Cohen; and many nieces and nephews who she adored.

The daughter of the late Irving & Sally Gross, she was also the cherished younger sister of the late Marvin Gross. Having lost her mother when she was at the tender age of 11, life wasn’t easy for Ilene, but oh what a wonderful life she lived. She spent her formidable years moving from relative to relative in Queens to the Bronx to Brooklyn. She carefully balanced school and work - holding down a secretarial job for 3 years with the family business, Gross Trucking in Brooklyn started by her grandfather with a horse and buggy. After graduating from Lincoln High School in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn in 1959, she set out on her own determined to work in Manhattan. She made that wish come true when she landed a secretarial job with Wallach Research. After a year, she seized the opportunity to work at Doyle Dane Bernbach Advertising Agency starting there in October 1960. Not only had she found her niche for employment in the big city, she also met the love of her life, Jack at the company Christmas party a few weeks later. They wed in July of 1966 and made their first home together in another apartment in Sheepshead Bay. After 11 years with DDB, she became a stay-at-home mom when her first baby, Alan, arrived in 1971. And in 1976, the family - that had now grown to include Ilyssa & Mark - moved to their home in the New Jersey suburb of Freehold. And there they lived, loved and raised their children for the next 22 years. Ilene went back to work in 1984, serving as the secretary to the principal at Taylor Mills Elementary School in the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District. Ilene was essential in running the school and that is where she made some of her dearest forever friends.

Retirement came in 1998 and that year Jack & Ilene moved to Grove Isle, in Boynton Beach, Florida. She worked as an elections supervisor, volunteered for 15 years at the Delray Beach Tennis Open and the Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic, and served as president and secretary of the Grove Isle HOA.

After Jack’s passing, she remained in Florida for two years while also spending extended time with Ilyssa and Steven, before moving to an assisted living community in Basking Ridge, NJ, in 2024.

When she wasn’t busy working or volunteering, Ilene enjoyed knitting and crocheting special pillows and blankets for her grandchildren; nature walks; playing games including Monopoly, Rummikub, and Mah Jongg; shopping (especially when circulars were involved); watching the news, The Today Show, CNN and The Bachelor (considering herself a “super fan”); watching the kids’ sports; spending time with friends; going to the beach; traveling; creating photo albums; finding credit card benefits, free gifts from banks and travel deals; babysitting for Bradley & Emily (while Ilyssa & Steven vacationed); snuggling with her granddog Frankie; house decorating; caring for her plants (she had quite a green thumb); coupon clipping; weather reporting; and getting invited to parties (where Jack and she were always the welcome entertainers - everyone loved to be around them). Together Ilene & Jack went on 49 cruises - playing the Newlywed Game together and winning every time (later revealing the answers were fixed). Admittingly, Ilene also loved a good curse word.

Ilene was smart, resilient, strong, determined, loving, funny, beautiful, a fashionista, all-knowing, feisty, an incredible friend (always asking about others and remembering what they were going through - good or bad), a wonderful mother, wife, aunt and Meema. She would like to be remembered as a good, honest and caring person and devoted friend. Through all of life, her favorite part was creating and watching her family grow. She hopes that her grandchildren will live long and happy lives and will remember their Meema - who loved them so.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 24 at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, 68 Old Short Hills Rd, Livingston, NJ 07039, followed by graveside burial at New Montefiore Cemetery, 1180 Wellwood Ave, West Babylon, NY 11704.

For those unable to attend the funeral in person, there will be a live webcast available using the following link: https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/121014

The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to the Mission MSA memorial page in loving memory of Ilene's courageous battle against Multiple System Atrophy: https://donate.missionmsa.org/ilenecohen