Funeral Details

Rolly Susan (nee Stein) Cohen; 70; longtime resident of Highland Park, IL, after a valiant battle with breast cancer since 2014; born at Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, IL, June 10, 1953, died at home in Highland Park, IL, with her family at her bedside, on Saturday evening, March 9, 2024; beloved wife of Stuart Lee Cohen (since June 25, 1977 at the Ritz Carlton, Chicago, IL, by the late Rabbi Herbert Bronstein); loving mother of Harris Matthew Cohen of Silver Spring, MD, and Abra Beth Cohen of Chicago, IL; fond sister of Dr. Stuart Alan, MD (Katherine Jan, nee Lecklider) Stein, of Santa Ana, CA, and sister-in-law of Marlene Ann Cohen (Arnold Bernard Kaber, Ph.D.) of Boynton Beach, FL; very devoted daughter of the late Jerome Hebert, Esq., and Iris Betty (nee Lanski) Stein; caring daughter-in-law of the late Arnold Aaron and Evelyn Ruth (nee Cohen) Cohen; cherished granddaughter of the late Abe Leo and Bessie (nee Rissman) Stein and Harry and Anna Mae (nee Goldberg) Lanski. Rolly first lived in Hyde Park where her mother’s family, the Lanski’s, were longtime stalwart members of Congregation Rodfei Zedek, before her family moved to Highland Park in 1958. She was a proud graduate of Ravinia School, Edgewood Junior High School, and Highland Park High School (Class of 1971). In the summers, Rolly worked as a counselor at Sunset Woods and Kelly’s Day Camps. Rolly received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education with High Honors and a Minor in Music from the University of IL at Urbana-Champaign in 1975 and her Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies from the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in 2010. Rolly served as the Director of both Teacher Education and the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning at the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago, where she was also the 2011 Rambam Award recipient and instrumental in founding the Makor Or Center for children and young adults with special needs, until her retirement in 2020; and she also taught religious school at North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, IL, for over 20 years. Rolly was confirmed at Congregation B’nai Torah in Highland Park, IL, and learned to chant Torah as an adult at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, IL, where Rolly’s parents and her own family have been longtime members. She was dedicated to Jewish education; a classical pianist; especially kind, diplomatic, and considerate in how she interacted with everyone; always knew the right thing to say or do, including correspondence etiquette; and, just like her mother and maternal grandmother before her, always fashionably and elegantly dressed. She loved dogs, ladybugs, and the ravines of Highland Park and their Spring trilliums, but most importantly her family. Rolly’s Hebrew name was Rachel Tzippora in memory of her mother’s maternal grandfather Raphael Golde and her father’s maternal grandmother Ida (nee Schwerson) Rissman. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Susan G. Komen for the Cure (www.komen.org) or the Jewish United Fund/Israel Emergency Fund (www.juf.org/IsraelEmergencyFund) would be appreciated. Service Tuesday, March, 12, 2024 at 12 Noon at NSS Beth El, 1175 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, IL. Interment at Rosehill Cemetery, 5800 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago, IL. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals, 847-229-8822. To attend the funeral live stream, please visit the website, www.cjfinfo.com.