Norwich-Alfred Cohn passed away December 18, 2010 in Norwich, CT. He was born July 17, 1912 in Norwich, Connecticut, a son of Barnett and Yetta Cohn. He was a lifelong member of Norwich’s Brothers of Joseph Synagogue.
Al was predeceased by his beloved wife of 58 years, Estelle Cohn, his parents and his three brothers: Alix, Harry and Albert, as well as by Al and Estelle’s many pet dogs including their most personable mongrel, TV, and their French Poodle, Suzette. He is survived by his cousin, 99 year old first cousin Alfred Katz of Los Angeles, his wonderful caregiver, Brenda Earl, and dear friends Joan Shea, Joseph and Lois Matera, Chaz and Marie Zezulka and Michael and Rosa Goldblatt, and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Al was a highly skilled glass artisan and operated his well known Norwich based New England Glass and Mirror Company for six decades. His hand made custom beveled mirrors still grace many fine homes in Connecticut. New England Glass and Mirror’s catchy slogan was “Give us the breaks”. Al’s original restored 37 Chevy company truck has recently appeared at local car shows brandishing that slogan.
Al was also an expert in restoring and resilvering mirrors. During World War II he provided a vital service to the war effort by personally resilvering submarine and surface craft conning tower mirrors at the US Submarine Base at Groton, CT. During that time, he formed a lifelong friendship with Admiral Hyman Rickover, the Father of the US Nuclear Submarine Force.
Al was a natural promoter as well as an adventurous soul. Upon graduating from the Norwich Free Academy in 1930 during the great depression, Al secured a sponsorship from the Van Tassel Velvet Company for a cross country trip to Los Angeles, CA. After emblazoning his 1926 Dodge Coupe with advertising, he and his brother Alix took off. He hoped to find his cousin Alfred Katz who lived in LA on the trip. A month later they limped into LA after barely surviving a rough journey that included being rescued from a flooded road and other costly mishaps. With the car barely running and out of money, they pulled into a gas station to inquire about his cousin’s address. Amazingly, Al’s cousin was working and on duty at that very same gas station.
In 1952, Al, always a Cadillac owner, decided to buy a new Jaguar XK120 Roadster. In 1954, Frank Sinatra came to Norwich to perform at the Masonic Temple. Al picked up Mr. Sinatra with the roadster at the New London train station and drove him to Norwich with the top down. A photograph of Al and Frank Sinatra in the car made the local newspapers.
Al and his wife Estelle loved and cared for animals all of their lives. When he was asked to help sponsor a dog park for Norwich, he surprised the organizers by enthusiastically offering to fund most of the cost to build what is now Norwich’s Estelle Cohn Memorial Dog Park. He is also a major benefactor of Norwich’s Otis Library.
A graveside service will be held TODAY at Hebrew Benevolent Cemetery #1 in Preston at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of sending flowers a donation to the Otis Library would be appreciated. Please visit www.churchandallen.com to leave an online condolence for the Cohn family.
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