Remembering Susan Hovey Cohen

The Village recently lost a gem, a woman of great kindness, passion, and caring, Susan Hovey Cohen. She passed away on May 19, 2021 after a short, but intense illness. She was just 70 years old. Born in Port Chester, N. Y., she had lived in Piermont for decades.

Susan was the loving wife of Fred Cohen, a talented artist with a unique vision whose whimsical and fascinating works have been featured in many art galleries, including my former gallery, Art of the Americas, over 20 years ago. The life of an artist is fraught with economic difficulty; nevertheless, Susan supported her husband's artistic endeavors tirelessly throughout the years. She, herself, was a gifted holistic practitioner, and provided her clients with health-enhancing craniosacral therapy. It is unfortunate that her healing talents were not sufficient to stop the aggressive form of cancer that ended her life prematurely.

The couple was married for over 38 years, most of which were spent in Piermont. Susan and Fred were almost fixtures in Flywheel Park for 10 of those years, with their lovely Basset Hound, Lucy. She, like her human mom and dad, greeted everyone that wanted to stop and say "hello." The charming hound caused many to laugh as they passed by her, as once she had found a shady spot to her liking, no amount of entreaty would make her move until she was ready to do so.

When Susan became ill, Fred stopped working his "day job" as a house painter in order to care for her, ignoring the financial hardship that was likely to ensue. All that mattered to him was caring for his beloved wife and making her remaining days as happy and comfortable as possible.

Susan was also a devoted mother. Her daughter, Vanessa, has inherited her father's artistic talent and her mother's joie de vivre, as well as her interest in social justice issues.

A memorial service for Susan will be held in the coming weeks. The date, time, and location will be announced in a future edition of this publication.

A GoFundMe site has been set up to help the family with all of the medical bills. Donations can be made at the site, and will be greatly appreciated.

While it may take some time before Fred resumes his day job, life's expenses require that he do so. Should you be in need of the services of an excellent house painter, you may reach him at (845) 359-2641, or by email at [email protected].

Fred has a website that you can visit to see his beautiful artwork. So be sure to click on the link, or go to www.fredcohenpainter.com/work. The paintings will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face--in much the same way that Susan brought a smile to mine, and to the faces of so many others, whenever we were fortunate enough to be in her presence.

Remembering Susan...