Robert M. Cohen, retired neurosurgeon and Philadelphia folk music mainstay, has died at 86
He practiced neurosurgery for two decades, from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, at the old Rancocas Valley Hospital in Willingboro.
Robert M. Cohen, 86, of Philadelphia, retired neurosurgeon at what is now Virtua Willingboro Hospital, lecturer at what is now the Thomas Jefferson University Sidney Kimmel Medical College, lifelong musician, singer, cofounder of Folk Alliance International and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, onetime president of the Philadelphia Folksong Society, raconteur, and Navy veteran, died Monday, Feb. 2, of multiple organ failure at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Dr. Cohen grew up in Elkins Park in Montgomery County and earned his medical degree at the old Thomas Jefferson Medical College in 1965. He was good with his hands and liked to take things apart when he was a boy, and he practiced neurosurgery for two decades, from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, at the old Rancocas Valley Hospital in Willingboro.
His father was a physician, too, and Dr. Cohen commuted to the South Jersey hospital daily and for emergencies from his home in Center City. Sometimes, he told his family, he would affix a flashing blue light to his car when he was responding to an emergency call. At least once, he said, he was stopped by police, and they wound up escorting him with their own red and blue lights flashing.
He enlisted in the Navy after medical school, became a lieutenant commander, and served at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. For years, he was an engaging lecturer at Jefferson Medical College.
“He brought a neurosurgeon’s confidence and expectation of being respected to every aspect of life,” his son, Aubrey, said. “He had a big personality and liked to be involved. He felt deeply and strongly about things.”
A natural and lifelong musician, Dr. Cohen played piano, bass fiddle, and sousaphone when he was young, and the banjo, guitar, and autoharp as an adult. He cofounded a folk music society as a student at Pennsylvania State University and starred in a production of the musical Paint Your Wagon.
In the 1960s, he and two other doctors formed a band and played at parties, fundraisers, and other events. He married longtime folk music colleague Dianne Tankle in 1988, and they became pillars of the folk music community.
They cofounded Folk Alliance International in 1989 and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance in 1994. He served as a board member and onetime president of the Philadelphia Folksong Society, and together they organized countless folk music festivals and what one friend called “delightful musical forays.”
They hosted Pete Seeger and dozens of other visiting musicians and singers in their Center City home for years, and staged an annual Thanksgiving sing that often drew more than 400 people. Colleagues at Folk Alliance International praised Dr. Cohen’s “generosity, steadiness, and deep belief in folk music” in a Facebook tribute. They said: “Bob’s impact is felt across the folk family and within the wide circle of artists, presenters, and peers.”
Dr. Cohen was a gregarious storyteller and often punctuated his tales with jaunty songs. Friends called him Dr. Bob and noted his “big heart and booming voice” in online tributes. One friend called him “one of the nicest guys I ever met.”
Longtime friend Robin Palley said: “Best of all, he was a friend with a twinkle in his eye who loved a good corny joke.”
Robert Manheimer Cohen was born Aug. 22, 1939, in Lancaster. His family moved to Elkins Park when he was young, and he graduated from Cheltenham High School.
He wrestled and played soccer in high school, earned a bachelor’s degree at Penn State, and joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He married Beverly Shapiro in 1963, and they had a daughter, Elissa, and a son, Aubrey. After a divorce, he partnered for a time with Gina Grey.
Dr. Cohen was an avid snow and water skier. He bought a house near Lake Harmony in the Pocono Mountains and often roamed the ski slopes in New England, Canada, and Europe.
He studied history, collected belt buckles and pipes, and blended his own tobacco. He supported environmental causes and Democratic Party candidates, and was active at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia.
He followed the Eagles and the Penn State football team, and took his daughter to many memorable 76ers games. He managed dyslexia his entire life and primary progressive multiple sclerosis for the last 45 years.
“He was commanding, larger than life,” his daughter said. “When he came in, he filled the room.” His wife said: “He knew how to handle people. He was a charming extrovert. He was magic.”
In addition to his wife and children, Dr. Cohen is survived by four grandchildren, a sister, Sue, a brother, Jeff, and other relatives. His former wife died earlier.
Services were held earlier.
Donations in his name may be made to Philadelphia Folksong Society, Box 4959, 6711 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19119; and Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, 1153 S. Eighth St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19147.