David Frankel

I remember Holly. A very sweet girl. Sorry for her loss.

Susan Roswit

Holly was one of my dearest friends. When she died in 2019, I wrote this tribute that I would like to share with you.

I knew Holly since junior high school; I was friends with her longer than with anyone else. Although we went our separate ways, we always kept in touch and, when Holly lived in Manhattan, I would often visit her during the winter holidays when I came to New York from Boston to see my family.

My favorite memories of Holly were  from our trip to Aruba in 1995. We went snorkeling, lazed happily on rubber rafts in the sun, took a Jeep caravan ride that bounced us up and down unmercifully, and apprehensively entered a bat-filled cave.  Thanks to Holly’s boldness and eagerness to try everything, we also took a terrifyingly turbulent banana boat ride, and went horseback riding down perilous slopes, where Holly showed off some pretty decent riding skills.

The most fun was in a nightclub where we imbibed the strongest tropical cocktail(s) I’ve ever had, getting drunk to the point where we opted to do karioke, something neither of us would likely have done absent those potent drinks. I still have photos of Holly at the mike.

Holly and I also got together on holidays when I visited my folks in Yonkers. I’d bunk out at her Park Ave. apartment, unable to sleep amidst the city sounds of wailing fire engines and shouts from the streets. We jokingly observed that I was the country mouse visiting the city mouse.

Years later, Holly coaxed me into joining an over the phone writing group, consisting of Holly in NY, her longtime friend Terrie in Florida, and me in Boston. Holly loved to write and wrote beautifully. She was also a fantastic writing coach, critiquing our work and encouraging us to publish it. It was around that time that she was becoming increasingly riddled with pain. Much as she enjoyed and looked forward to our sessions, she got so uncomfortable that we had to stop.

Holly’s passing has been an overwhelming loss for me. Although we didn’t see each other in person in later years, we would talk on the phone for hours, confiding our deepest thoughts and fears. And laughing about the fun things we did as teens, like our beloved yet scary Ouija board, where we were never quite sure that there wasn’t an unseen spirit moving the small plastic piece clenched between our fingers to spell out answers to our questions with the letters on the board.

Holly was highly esteemed in her profession as a strategist and fund raiser for nonprofit organizations in New York, including Citymeals on Wheels, the Lighthouse International, the New York Women's Foundation, the Jewish Child Care Association, and Public Health Solutions.  As the Development Director at Citymeals for nine years, she had occasion to meet dozens of celebrities, regaling her friends with stories of lunches with actors and political leaders. But none of that was meant to impress -- Holly was always herself, down to earth, genuine, with a wry sense of humor. And I admired her career choices -- always centered around helping others.

I miss her sorely.

Susan Saltzer (Drucker)

Holly was a close friend from kindergarten through high school.  I remember walking to her house from PS 28 and doing homework, talking,etc. before continuing my walk to home. We stayed in touch for many years, sending cards, notes, talking, from her home in NYC to my home in Detroit.. I remember visiting her several times as part of my visits to my parents in Yonkers. She was one of my closest friends..  I think of her often, and miss her.

Susan Kreloff (Kind)

I am saddened to read these posts, not just because of Holly's passing a few years ago but because of this:  before I retired I was a career fundraiser in NYC.  A close friend's mother lived down the street and I would visit her often. She volunteered for Meals on Wheels and would tell me all the time about the wonderful director named Holly Cohen.  She often suggested we meet because we had so much in common.  Both busy at our jobs, we never did meet and little did I know she was THIS Holly.  So sorry we never managed to get together.  

Virginia Marie Giordano (Sampson)