Herbert Cohen of Bohemia, longtime pharmacist, 94

Herbert Cohen, a longtime Long Island pharmacist, was known for his dry sense of humor.

His niece Barrie Hoffman-Weiss remembers him behind the pharmacy counter, always joking around when she would take a piece of candy from his store.

“My uncle was like, ‘Where's the nickel? You owe me a nickel.’ I'm like, really? I was a little girl,” Hoffman-Weiss said. “It was so funny.”

Cohen, who lived in Bohemia, died of COVID-19 on May 13. He was 94.

Cohen was born in Brooklyn on July 19, 1928, and relocated to Freeport as a child. His parents, Harry and Celia Cohen, bought a house on Harding Place, where they lived with their three kids and Celia’s sister’s family.

“They were hard-hit by the Depression,” his daughter, Jill Cohen, said. “My grandfather took care of two families in that house.”

Herbert Cohen's father, a pharmacist, opened Freeport Drug Shop in the village. After graduating from Freeport High School in 1946, Cohen headed off to the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy to learn his father’s trade. He started working at the family store after completing his studies.

Cohen married Joan Fisher in 1954 and welcomed two children, Jill and Doug.

Back in those days, “Freeport was really hopping and the store was always busy,” said Hoffman-Weiss, who grew up in Roosevelt.

Cohen and Fisher divorced in 1975. Around the same time, the business, which he had taken over, was facing difficulties.

“My dad's store was a community drugstore,” Jill Cohen said. “And malls were really driving people out of those neighborhood stores at that time.”

After closing the store, Cohen continued working as a pharmacist across Long Island, including at Kings Park Psychiatric Facility and various other state hospitals and privately-owned pharmacies.

“He was so good with the public,” Jill Cohen said. “So it was kind of strange for him to be working inside hospitals, not really dealing with consumers face-to-face.”

Hebert Cohen remarried in the 1980s, and divorced last year.

Even when he faced financial setbacks, Cohen always made sure to give back.

“My dad never made a lot of money, but he always gave a lot of money away,” Jill Cohen said. “There were probably 25 organizations that he would write small checks to" including the ASPCA and the Democratic Party.

He retired in the 1990s. His free time was filled with lots of books, golf, bowling leagues and — most importantly — family.

“My grandfather was one of — I think — eight or nine children who survived,” Jill Cohen said. “My dad kept in touch with the children of his first cousins.”

Recently, his already large family had gotten a little bigger: He became a great-grandparent for the first time a few months ago.

“It was like my dad started a new life when this great-grandchild was born,” Jill Cohen said.

After her father died, Jill Cohen went through his phone to alert family members. She was struck by how many of them he kept up with.

His niece, who has lived in Florida for decades, was used to having Herbert Cohen fill her in on family news.

“He knew what was going on with all his extended family,” Hoffman-Weiss said. “He was my network. Plus, the fact that I just enjoyed talking to him all the time.”

Cohen is survived by his two children, three grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and many nieces and nephews.