Hyman Cohen's Obituary
Hyman Cohen (Hy), born February 25, 1926, was the youngest child of twelve children born to Wolf and Esther (Rosenberg) Cohen. As a child growing up, Hy was involved in the Boy Scouts, a professional boys’ choir that sang for local synagogues, and the American Cadets, a military exploration program for youth. This early interest in the military, plus his brother, Sol’s career in aviation, spurred Hy to join the Army Air Corps in 1944 during the height of WWII. After an honorable discharge in 1946, Hy returned to Brooklyn for a short time but soon joined his brother, Sol, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to attend Spartan School of Aeronautics while also working for the Spartan Aircraft Company. After completing a technical degree at Spartan School, Hy continued working for the Spartan Aircraft Company. One evening while attending a local dance, Hy’s life changed forever. He met a young lady, named Edna Hustedde, who he described as “looking like a movie star”. They began dating and on May 20, 1950, they married and settled down. Between 1951 and 1958, they had three children: Mark, Jane, and Rose Anne. He shared his love of scouting with Mark when he was assistant scout master of Mark’s troop. He also shared his love of mechanics with all three of his children by “enlisting their aid” whenever car repairs needed to be made. The family moved to Harlingen, Texas, in 1971 when Spartan Aircraft Company closed its Tulsa operation and moved to Harlingen. In 1973 when Spartan ceased operations in Harlingen, Hy was acquired by Dallas Airmotive who took over the Spartan facilities. Hy and Edna moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1977 when Hy was transferred by the company. He began working for General Dynamics (now Lockheed) in 1981, where he was a Quality Assurance Engineer. At the age of 69, he retired from Lockheed. Hy and Edna spent their retirement years visiting with their children and grandchildren and just enjoying being with each other. Sadly in 2005, Edna passed away. After her passing, Hy became very involved with the Seniors part of the Jewish Community Center in Dallas. He joined the choir who performed at many different types of events, in particular local senior living facilities. He also served on the Senior Board with the center. Hy was preceded in death by his parents, his siblings: Harry, Rose, Nat, Jeanie, Sol, Bob, Naomi, Dorothy, Alexander, and Eva, and his wife, Edna. Left to carry on his legacy are his son, Mark Cohen (wife-Linda), daughters, Jane Duncan (husband-Roy), and Rose Anne Rice (husband-Grady); grandchildren Bridget Replogle (Jim Canady -fiancé), Stacy Cohen (Nat Green), Kelly Duncan (Staci), Debbie Rankin (Cole), Erin Rice (Kenneth Hughes), Colin Rice (Savannah), and Daniel Rice; six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Hy Cohen will be remembered by family and friends alike as a man who never knew a stranger, could entertain a crowd with his stories and jokes, and loved each of us as much as we loved him. Service will be held on Friday, May 12, 2017 at 12:30 PM in the Wildwood Chapel at Restland Funeral Home with visitation held one hour prior to the service. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted into Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, Texas, 75243.
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