Marilyn Janet “Jan” Cohen, 90, died peacefully on April 14 due to complications of an extended illness.
Jan was the only child born to Ella and Leland Martin in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 2, 1933. She attended Mark Twain Elementary School and Wyandotte High School. She graduated from KCU (now UMKC) with a BA in Spanish after completing some of her college work in Mexico.
Jan was part of the first group of students to attend classes at the new University of Mexico City.
She went on to continue her education with a master’s degree in Spanish and a minor in French from University of Illinois in 1958.
She married William V. Weston (deceased 2019) in 1958 and moved to St. Louis, Missouri. During that time, in 1963, her only child, Lindsay, was born. The couple eventually divorced in 1967. Two years later, she met Ralph Cohen (deceased 2021). They married in 1969. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Dallas, Texas, and lived there until 1976 when they moved to a farm in northern Missouri. In 1995, after living in the country for 20 years, they moved to Kansas City to the Glen Arbor area and finally to Kingswood Independent Living in 2019.
Jan was involved in nutritional sales for more than 40 years with the Neo-Life Company. She sold nutritional products and offered sage advice in Dallas, northern Missouri (where she had a storefront in Unionville) and a home office in the house she and Ralph built in Kansas City.
Jan had a wonderful life of extensive travel, friends and many interests. She first went to Mexico with her parents at age five, thus beginning a lifelong love for the country, its language and its people. Throughout her life, there were many trips to Puerto Vallarta, as her small family would gather each year. Her love of Mexico inspired Bill to move there, Ralph to become a yearly tourist and her daughter, son-in-law and so many others to continue the tradition of the love of the country.
Jan had so many interests throughout her life. She was a lifelong learner, always curious. She was an avid reader, loved her language study (Spanish, French, Italian and Swedish), weaving and doing puzzles with friends and family. She was involved with All Souls Unitarian Church of Kansas City, acting on its stewardship committee, secretary of Demeters Women’s Group and served as cashier and usher. She was active in La Causerie Francaise, where she studied French and Italian for 22 years. She was a voter registrar for the League of Women Voters, making sure everyone she came in contact with was a registered voter. She was also very active on several committees at Kingswood, library being her favorite. She was socially conscientious, an animal rights advocate, ecologically friendly and all-around generous human being.
Jan is survived by her daughter, Lindsay; son-in-law, Archie Edgar; step-granddaughter, Bri Ryan (all of Chicago); her cat, Macho, who is now in the care and love of daughter and family; many auxiliary family members (Michelle Svec) and countless friends.
A celebration of life service is pending for family and friends until the summer. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alley Cat Allies or any animal rights organization of your choice in her honor. She will be greatly missed.
