Raphael Cohen

Rafi was born in Jerusalem, Israel and came to the United States in 1975 after meeting his future wife while she was travelling abroad. He came to the US with an 8th grade education, barely spoke or read English and had in his wallet (in traveler's checks). What Rafi did have, was a strong work ethic and worked as hard as he could in various professions, eventually getting a handle of the English language while on the job. Ultimately, he found his calling in the jewelry industry and opened up his first jewelry store in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1977. He would open up more stores, including Raphael Jewelers in Framingham and on Boylston Street in Boston. In 1994, he decided to move towards the wholesale jewelry industry and became the distributor for several jewelry and wristwatch lines. He even designed and manufactured his own watch lines.

In 2003, he moved his life and business to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he continued his wholesale business but also opened up several "TeNo" stores on the Las Vegas strip and, most recently, Raphael Fine Jewelry on Flamingo Rd.

Rafi was a huge Arsenal soccer fan, a workaholic, and a lover of good food and smoking weed. He was also a tech nerd, who bought the first commercially available Apple computer as soon as it came out and never stopped. He always needed the newest gadgets as soon as they were released. He understood that the future was "tech" and it was important and needed to be on top of it.

He is survived by his life partner (and business partner), Sherri Cohen; his children, David Cohen and Nadine Kluger; his grandchild, Henry Kluger; his brothers, Rami Cohen (and wife Mirav), Sason Cohen and a sister, Leora Malka. Additionally, he leaves to mourn his passing several extended family members and thousands of friends and colleagues around the world.

A funeral service will be held at King David Memorial Chapel, 2697 E Eldorado Ln, Las Vegas, NV 89120 on Monday, June 3rd at 10:00am with a burial to follow.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 AM on 2024-06-03 at King David Memorial Chapel, 2697 E. Eldorado Lane.