Dr. Murray L. Cohen, 92, of St. Petersburg, FL and Newburgh, passed away on Monday, July 8, 2019.
The fourth generation of his family to be born in Newburgh, NY, Murray graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in 1944. After military service in World War II, he graduated first in his class from Syracuse University, attended Syracuse University Medical School, served an internship at the Bellevue Hospital and then joined the house staff of the newly established Albert Einstein College of Medicine, marrying Beverly Singer in 1955.
After serving as Chief Medical Resident in 1957, Beverly and Murray returned to Newburgh, where he practiced internal medicine for nearly 50 years, never losing his passion and dedication to the art of medical practice, and always carrying a deep conviction that it was an honor and a trust to care for others. He regularly spent long hours at his office and the hospital, carefully tending to each one of his patients.
He was an exemplar of the town doctor, taking care of his neighbors and community with a compassionate style rarely encountered today. Murray’s deep feelings of responsibility to his community went beyond individual doctor-patient relationships, with service as a Newburgh City Councilman,Chairman of the Board of Education of the Greater Newburgh School District, and Chief of Staff and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at St. Luke’s Hospital.
For many years he shared his expertise as Clinical Faculty at NYU School of Medicine, where he taught physical diagnosis to medical students and engaged in research in the field of clinical cardiology. In the little time this left him, Murray enjoyed reading, travelling, sailing, and skiing.
After retiring at age 80, Murray and Beverly remained active as members of the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement (HILR) in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC) in St. Petersburg, Florida. In addition to being a well-respected physician, Murray was a loving husband to Beverly, father to Mark (Yvonne), David (Erica) and Steven (Nicole) Cohen, and grandfather to Gary (Helena), Samantha, Alan (Katarina), Allison, Theodore, Lilly, Alexander, Kyle, and Eliza Cohen.
Services will be held at 1:30 PM on Friday, July 12, 2019 at David C. Gross Funeral Home, 6366 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Newburgh Chamber Music, or Temple Beth Jacob.
Online guestbook at davidcgross.com.