Linda Cohen

Linda Lee Cohen, MD, MPH, was born on August 22, 1938 in Louisville, KY, and passed away on October 20, 2023 in Rockville, MD, at age 85. She was the daughter of Dr. Armand E. Cohen and Jean Kohn Cohen.

She was a graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia University Medical School, and spent her entire career in the public health field. During her tenure with the U.S. Public Health Service, she helped numerous hospitals in the state of Louisiana to meet Medicare standards. She worked for many years as a medical device regulator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focusing mainly on ophthalmological devices.

Dr. Cohen held many leadership roles in Toastmasters International, and helped to establish 27 Toastmasters clubs in the Washington, DC area. She was a past president of Chapter 1892 of National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) in the Rockville-Silver Spring area in Maryland. As she liked to say, she enjoyed helping people.

Her parents and her sister, Carol Cohen Roberts (Harry) predeceased her, as did her niece, Karyn Cohen Harden (Jerry). She is survived by her nieces, Lori Cohen Hall (the late Mark Hall) and Wendy Sue Cohen, of Louisville, KY; Nancy Cohen Wasserman (Michael) of Oklahoma; and Terri Cohen Baker (Michael) of Berea, KY. She is also survived by her companion, Edward Lee Gonzague, of Rockville, MD.