Eulogy for Barbara Cohen
1953-2021
Barbara Julie Cohen
Barb was a trooper. She was an amazing and remarkable person,
devoted sister to Ben and me, devoted, loving aunt and sister-in-law,
and loving daughter to my parents. Barb had tremendous courage in the
face of everything life presented to her. She was the wind beneath my
wings. In her own quiet, gentle way she watched over me like a big
sister hawk; and now we all have to accept the deep sadness and loss
at losing the strength and umbrella of Barb. For us all it is a
terrible, terrible loss. It was easy for her to be someone’s
best friend. She would literally give you the ‘shirt off her
back’ in the words of my dad. Barb encouraged us all for the
talents she saw in us. She was a gifted encourager. Her ears and eyes
were clever, astute, highly sensitized, and very alert.
She always told me she was shy, but I encouraged her to
branch out. So recently she pushed herself to connect with others more
deeply in the retirement home where she lived, by reaching out to
others who she did not really know well, to show she cared. She loved
giving everyone her art. That was her gift to them. With close friends
and family, Barb who was usually more melancholic, taciturn and quiet,
recently adopted our mom’s gift for chattiness, and laughed
about that new discovery in herself.
Although we fought a lot, and always made up, Barb was always
a role model for me in her perseverance, work ethic and being kind to
others. In many ways she was unstoppable. She went every day she
could, to work for four to six hours in the art studio we found for
her. If I can be half as kind and loving as Barb, then I will have
lived a good life. Barb lived her best life every day by being
courageously creative, kind and loving. Her tremendous strength and
bravery coping with life’s challenges within and outwardly,
was a great source of strength for me. And to quote Joni
Mitchell: (it is a terrible shock when you realize) you
don’t know what you have got until it is
gone.
Her love for me was so big that it is hard to imagine how I
will be successful without that magnanimous, warm love she bestowed
upon us every day of her life. When our parents were not well, she was
the first to step in to help them, loving them unconditionally. She
was the constant for them and for us, no matter what – always
remaining strong and steadfast in the face of life’s
challenges. Barb loved all her family members unconditionally, and
with her whole, gigantically kind heart. She loved many things: doing
her art – painting, drawing and sewing, giving her art to others,
communing and learning with other artists, the wisdom and humanistic
aspects of our Jewish faith, being supportive of her friends and
family, finding images and ‘pictures’ in clouds,
reading nonfiction books, her sketchbooks, and finally the weather –
in all its sounds, splendor, glory and furor. She always said:
“people complain a lot about the weather, but they
shouldn’t.” When I would ask her what the weather
was like in Guelph, she would often say “beautiful”,
with tremendous reverence for nature and its beauty and
blessings.
I think Barb’s friends and family will all agree:
The world will not be the same without Barb. To Barb: “It
will not be the same and quite as amazing and contented for me without
you, Barb. I was fortunate to have you as a
sister.”
Barb began her life in the Sault as a bright, beautiful,
energetic kid, always running around, climbing trees, playing games
outside all day, playing cowboys and Indians with our older brother,
keeping up with him in her fiercely admiring and loving way. And when
I came along she watched over and took care of me, a
lot.
Barb is remembered by us and cousins for her amazing courage
and skills for ski jumping and slalom skiing, and was a trophy winning
team member of the Northern Ontario Ski team. She was never a bragger
about her skiing talent. I had to remind her how gifted a ski racer
and ski jumper she was.
Barb felt all things more deeply than most of us. She prayed
every day for my brother and me, and always asked me what I wanted her
to pray for me. I was stupidly reserved about this special blessing
towards me, but later and soon enough thankfully, I became quietly
grateful knowing she was the only person I had, that would do that for
me. I told Barb thank you for praying for me.
Barb was a grad of Toronto’s Ontario College of Art
who was steered by faculty there to pursue Environmental Design and
Conceptual Art, and throughout her life continued to be a very gifted
artist in Guelph, Ontario. Before the pandemic, Barb generously
volunteered and taught a small group of burgeoning artists in her
community for 6 years, to appreciate the work of the masters, and to
love and create their own art. I often told her she should directly
teach her students sharing all her depth of education and
comprehensive knowledge, but she believed she should only facilitate,
and insisted on letting them all discover individually what talents
lay within themselves. Her art classes were held in the Guelph
Library. She found her students art books so they could look at the
work of other artists for inspiration, and directed them – only after
they began their own thought and creative processes. She preferred to
have a low key, off-handed encouraging approach, as opposed to
directly sharing her depth of knowledge with others. Looking back at
that, I think that visionary, progressive approach might have more
long-standing benefits in some ways for special learners in all their
diversity, than traditional teaching would.
Barb was somewhat of a rebel, but interestingly she did
become much more conservative and conventional in her later life. This
was a comfort to me, being the very straightest arrow in the
family.
Barb was a highly intelligent and gifted, high IQ,
intellectual who thirsted for knowledge and discovery. She and my
brother are the brains in the family. Barb was regularly taking art
lessons with a prominent Canadian artist Laurie McGaw in Guelph before
the pandemic. She would really want all of you to check out the beauty
in Laurie McGaw’s amazing art and in the fabric art of
Barb’s friend Tammy Ratcliffe in Guelph. Through and by
using her courageous creativity daily, Barb wanted to bring peace to
our world, global warming awareness and environmental consciousness
into much of the art she created. She was extremely self-disciplined
and produced art in some way every day of her life in Guelph for many
years. Barb worked tremendously hard on her art daily. The way she did
art was way out at times, to use a term popular in the 70s, and while
I struggled to understand and accept some aspects of her art, I always
appreciated her amazing talent for sewing leather clothing, drawing
and painting.
Barb appreciated and acknowledged others for their various
diverse abilities, passions and talents. Barb was passionate with a
capital P. She enjoyed and was buoyed on by spending time with other
artists whose work she admired. We think it is a blessing that one of
Barb’s nieces is now beginning studies at the Parsons New
School of Art and Design in the US and this is one of the many
wonderful legacies Barb has left us. Barb was thrilled about
this.
I know she would want us all to keep our eyes open for beauty
all around us, do what we love and always openly share that love with
others. But without her here to quietly and with Grace encourage us, I
hope I will be able to muster the courage to properly reflect her
amazing legacy and strength, in the way in which she conducted herself
– with courage, determination and an open heart, every day of her
life.
Travelling to Guelph and being there with Barb was special
because I knew Barb was living a productive life doing what she loved
– her art. Living my life was good and brought me happiness,
because I knew Barb was looked after where she resided. I will miss
Barb daily and the love she had for us all ‘every day and
twice on Sunday,’ and try my best to honor her legacy by
pushing myself to always remember to keep loving first, have the
courage to be creative, and to work as hard as I can. Our family
wishes to thank you all for leading, attending; and thanks to my
brother Ben for being a good, supportive big brother to Barb, and
special thanks to Barb’s brother-in-law and my husband Byron
for going above and beyond for Barb and us, always.
I am confident that Barb would want us all to keep thriving
and live our best life creatively and lovingly, by working hard as we
were taught by our father and mother, by standing up for what we
believe in, and by sharing as much as possible with others less
fortunate than ourselves. She would want us to be courageously
creative in everything we do!
To Barb I say: please forgive me for anytime I was less than
a good sister and please know that every day you were in our life was
a blessed day because you were beautiful-and-cute-unique-you, and you
were there for us. Always.
Love you so much Barb and thank you for being gentle with me
and teaching me so much about what is really important in our lives,
and very sorry that I was always such a slow learner, and reticent to
share at times. But whenever I said “I love you” I
really meant that deep inside my heart. Always and forever. May
Barb’s memory be a blessing for all her family and friends
who were blessed to know her, and for you too who kindly came to be
with us today to venture on in this life’s blessed journey.
These days are not always easy, but I think Barb would quietly say to
us all: “Hi everyone. Thank you for coming. Keep dreaming,
hoping, doing and loving. Love, Barb.”
Susie – Barb’s sister.
Susan Lew

Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Eulogy for Barbara Cohen 19532021..

gilchrist chapel

Death notice for the town of: Guelph, Province: Ontario

death notice Eulogy for Barbara Cohen 19532021

mortuary notice Eulogy for Barbara Cohen 19532021