Irving Cohen

Irving Cohen, the beloved husband of Irene Cohen, a devoted father to Larry and Scott, father-in-law to Liz and Deirdre, Grandfather to Jake and Dylan, uncle to Aron and founder of Allstate Restaurant Equipment passed away peacefully on Saturday October 7th. He joins his parents Aron and Lillian, his dear brother Bernard, and sister Marilyn in the afterlife.

A true survivor against all odds, Irving Cohen lived each of his 3.7 billion heartbeats with unwavering courage and resilience. He survived throat cancer at 38 years old, returned home without a voice and immediately started Allstate ambitiously communicating with a pen and yellow legal pad.

He and Irene moved to Greensboro in 1963 and dedicated themselves to the Jewish community, to downtown Greensboro, and to communities less fortunate than them. Irv would often be seen in the winter months purchasing blankets for the homeless or a truck load of Turkeys during thanksgiving for the Salvation Army.

They were founders of B’nai Shalom Hebrew School and longtime supporters of Beth David Synagogue. And Irv was one of the founders of a movement to bring back downtown Greensboro in 1976 with the Old Greensboro’s Fourth of July celebration, Fun Fourth. A tradition that went on for years and seeded some of the vitality we experience there today.

He and Irene traveled the world and once, while on a mission to Moldova with their dear friends Frank and Shelly Weiner, decided to sponsor a young high school student, Eva, to come to the AHA School in Greensboro. Eva became like a daughter to them and is thriving today with her own career and family in the U.S.

Irv loved the art of the deal and you could find him at auctions, flea markets and salvage yards with his kids. He really did believe one persons’ trash is another persons’ treasure. And he built a thriving business recycling used restaurant equipment around this principle.

He loved helping people fulfill their dreams, believed in the handshake and was known to set entire restaurants up for immigrants who had nothing and trusted they would succeed with his help and pay him back.

Irv was a man who built enduring relationships in the community. He loved dogs, had a great sense of humor, was always game for a prank, made his way around the world with Irene, the kids and close friends - he loved to travel!

He was proud of his service in the army, he loved the Greensboro community and more than anything was an incredibly devoted husband, father and grandfather.

He will be sorely missed by his family and friends and wife Irene.

Funeral will be held at 12pm on Monday October 9th at Beth David Synagogue, 804 Winview Drive, Greensboro, NC 27410. Burial will follow at the Jewish Cemetery, 2911 West Gate City Blvd.

Shiva: Monday Immediately following the burial at Well Spring Special Occasion room, 4100 Wells Spring Dr with a Minyan at 5:45pm. Tuesday and Wednesday Shiva at Irene’s and a 5:45 Minyan in the Living Room at Wells Spring.

Donations: In honor of Irving Cohen to Greensboro Jewish Family Services