Jay Edward Cohen

Jay Edward Cohen

1943-2021

JAY EDWARD COHEN, 78 years old, a lifetime resident of Houston, Texas, passed away on November 6, 2021. He was born in Houston, as was his Mother, Alyda, and was the great-great grandson of Eugene Joseph Chimene, who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, and was considered to be the first Jewish Settler in Houston, Texas. His father was Raymond Cohen, M.D., one of the founders of Texas Children's Hospital. 

Mr. Cohen attended the University of Texas in Austin receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and joined Foley's Department Store as a trainee in 1964. He purchased Selfridge Women's Clothing Store in 1974 and later opened a financial services company (First Mutual Financial Corp.) in 1989. He joined Butler Cohen LLC, a construction company in 2014. 

He and the family would like to thank Eric Cohen and Sean Butler for giving Jay the opportunity to work and exercise his mind, which gave him the strength to live longer than he should have. Jay fought emphysema for many years, and in mid-June, 2010, he received a lung transplant, giving him a few more years of life, of which he used to the fullest. Jay loved life, and he got a lot of pleasure in helping other people. He was a volunteer at Methodist Hospital, and counseled many people about the Transplant system, and has remained friends with many of the transplanted people. 

The family would like to thank Dr. Harish Seethamraju, Marty Martin, and Lisa Cashiola, and all of the staff of Methodist Transplant Center and those at Memorial Hermann, including Dr. Soma Jyothula, for their contribution for giving him those extra years and a better quality of life. The family would also like to thank Pierre Charland and Dr. Soma Jyothula at Memorial Hermann Transplant Center for their care in Jay's later years. But everyone's time must come, and he passed away at the age of 78, 11 and half years after his transplant. 

Jay was an accomplished bowler, having started in 2012; he participated in the Transplant Games in 2014, where he earned a Gold Medal in singles and a Bronze Medal in doubles. His activities post transplant are what enabled him to live this long, and his attitude was always positive, and he received great pleasure by helping others.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Alyda and Raymond Cohen, and is survived by his children, Gary and Lisa Cohen, Cindy and Matt Taylor, and grandchildren, Rachel, Rylie, Sara, Laine and Aidan, all of Houston. 

He also leaves his brother and sister in law, Richard and Patti, and their children and grandchildren, namely Eric and Lisa Cohen, Tyler and Clay Cohen, Marnie and Ashley Cohen, as well as his good friend, Tatyana Cohen. He would have liked us to mention his best friend and brother, Rick, and would like to thank Dan Gordon and Stanley Kaufman for their many years of friendship. A Memorial service will be at Beth Israel Cemetery, outdoor chapel, with service conducted by Cantor Tunitsky and Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either Texas Children's Hospital, or the Jewish Family Service, or the charity of your choice.