Fritz Cohen

Fritz G. Cohen

05 August 1922 – 30 December 2024

Fritz G. Cohen died peacefully on December 30, 2024, at the age of 102 in Chicago, Illinois. Fritz was born on August 5, 1922, in Hanover (Lower Saxony), Germany to Iwan and Alice Cohen. He grew up near Hanover in Ronnenberg until fleeing Nazi Germany with his parents in August 1938. Fritz was preceded in death by his

beloved wife of 68 years, Leona.

After coming to the U.S. as refugees, Fritz and his parents settled in Reinbeck, Iowa. Fritz enlisted and served in the U.S Army Air Force from 1943 until 1945. Fritz became a naturalized U.S citizen during his service and was awarded the Italian Campaign Ribbon with two Bronze Battle Stars. In 1950, he married Leona Bobrecker and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Iowa. From 1958 until he retired in 1993, Fritz was on faculty at Purdue University Dept. of Modern Languages, where his scholarship resulted in publications and lectures on German

literature of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Fritz was not content to rest on his laurels after retirement. He worked with the Dept. of Religious Studies at Purdue to help educate students regarding the consequences of bigotry, fascism and hate, using his own first-hand experience of what he endured prior to fleeing Nazi Germany. Well into his 90’s, Fritz swam regularly medaling in his age group at county-wide Senior Olympics, religiously did 180 sit-ups daily, and remained active in many civic and community volunteer activities, including Lafayette Rotary Club, and serving as honorary chairman of Ronnenberg’s “Förderverein Erinnerungsarbeit Ronnenberg” (Friends of Remembrance Work).

Fritz is fondly remembered by his three children as a lover of gardening, his dogs and traveling with Leona. Fritz was a conservationist, lover of wild spaces and wildlife, hiker and camper. He loved opera, the fine arts, all things Italian and at the same time loved watching the Green Bay Packers and boxing during the heyday of Muhummad Ali.

What his three children remember him for most was as a very loving, present and

engaged parent. His children and nieces have many fond memories of Fritz taking a

group of not very enthusiastic girls to Tippecanoe Battleground Park on Thanksgiving mornings to make breakfast over a campfire and throw the football, usually in freezing temperatures. Fritz was a wonderful hiking buddy well into his eighties and loved the Indiana countryside and farmland. The two things he was most proud of were his family and his military service.

Fritz is survived by his three children: Suzanne A. Cohen, of Tucson, Elizabeth S. Cohen, of Chicago, Jonathan L. (Kathy) Cohen, of Elgin, Texas, and numerous nieces, nephews and grand pets.

Fritz’s pacemaker is being donated to a lucky canine patient at Purdue University’s

School of Veterinary Medicine, Dept. of Cardiology, in memory of all his dogs who were so expertly and compassionately cared for there over the years. In lieu of flowers, Fritz and Leona requested donations payable to the Purdue For Life

Foundation noting The Fritz and Leona Cohen Fund on the memo line, 403 West Wood Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2007. Alternately, online gifts can be made by going to: giving.purdue.edu/ (in the search bar at the top right corner, type “Fritz Cohen,” select “The Fritz and Leona Cohen Fund,” proceed with gift instructions/preferences).

The fund underwrites educational programming expenses including ticket and

transportation scholarships, artist and production fees associated with matinee

performances at Purdue and to support in-school artist residencies and workshops.

Private memorial services will be held in Lafayette, Indiana and in Ronnenberg, Germany later in the year.