Dr. Greta Cohen

Dr. Greta Cohen, beloved wife, mother, aunt, Social Studies Department Chairperson, teacher, and high school administrator, passed away suddenly after a brief illness. She was the daughter of Thomas and Helen Krasniewicz, and was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on December 6, 1939. She always felt a strong sense of pride being born on St. Nicholas Day, and as a result, collected Santa Clauses. Every holiday season she gave her department colleagues chocolate marshmallow Santa Claus candies along with her personal best wishes on a greeting card. When she hired Paul Ellis-Graham in the Fall of 1988, who was also born on the same day, albeit in 1953, she pleasantly reminded him that it was her birthday before it was his.

Growing up in Brooklyn, she attended James Madison HS and went on to study at Brooklyn College, where she obtained a B.A. in Political Science. While in college, she met the love of her life, Norman Cohen. They met while collaborating on the school newspaper. At that time, she was a freshman, and he was a senior. Immediately after graduation from Brooklyn College, she took a job with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Manhattan, where she was part of a training program for women interested in managerial positions. While there, she noticed the differing pay scales for men and women doing the same job. Despite the obvious misgivings, she used her time most effectively when on a lunch hour break from work in 1962, Greta Krasniewicz and Norman Cohen went over to City Hall and became man and wife.

The newlyweds lived across from Prospect Park when their daughter Lisa was born in 1965. From Brooklyn, they moved to Orange County, where Norman was employed as a medical research scientist at New York University’s Environmental Medicine Research Center in Sterling Forest. Once relocated to Orange County, they maintained residences in Sterling Forest, Tuxedo Park, and subsequently Monroe.

Greta Cohen came to the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District in 1968, where she began her student teaching experience under the tutelage of her future colleague, Marty Manson. As she continued her education toward a Ph.D. from NYU, she was hired as a full-time social studies teacher at Monroe-Woodbury HS in 1972. In 1987, she became the Chairperson of the Social Studies Department. She held both positions until her retirement in 2012, and for a brief period of time, she took on the additional responsibilities of Assistant Principal. As a person always looking to expand her knowledge, she traveled to India before teaching full-time, where she completed her doctoral dissertation from New York University on “Nuclear Science and Energy Technology”.

Throughout her teaching career, she faced numerous personal obstacles at home. Her husband, Norman developed multiple sclerosis and became disabled, requiring increased care within the home. Her daughter Lisa passed away at a young age, close to the time that Dr. Cohen retired from the school district.

Many people are loved, but fewer people are WELL-LOVED. Dr. Cohen was well-loved by everyone: family, husband, brother, nieces, nephews, students, and colleagues. To hundreds of students, she was “Dr. Cohen” who, aided by the “New York Times” that she always carried into her classroom, brought knowledge, inspiration, and a desire to learn about the world around them. To her colleagues, she was simply “Greta”, to whom all could come for needed resources, course ideas, advice, and counsel. Her door was ALWAYS open! With a true combination of professionalism, approachability, and affection, Greta lifted up all of those around her. She could talk to anyone. Greta was comfortable initiating conversations and was genuinely curious about other people, asking engaging questions that made people feel seen and heard. It is no surprise that many in her department got together often before, during, and after school to become not just colleagues, but comrades, and close personal friends. Her office was the nerve center of a well-run, highly effective group of professional educators.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities in the classroom, Dr. Cohen served students as the advisor to a club that she started: Students Against Violatioaboutn of the Earth (SAVE), to promote recycling and conservation of resources within the building. She also assumed many “tours of duty” as a class advisor to various freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes of students. When fellow department members Mary Beth Neely and Art Stalbow needed chaperones to take students to Russia, Greece, Italy, France, and Switzerland, Dr. Cohen volunteered to join them along with other adult volunteers.

In her retirement, Dr. Cohen led a very active life. She volunteered to help her “buddy” Cindy Mpasiakos serve the needs of little ones by assisting them in The Creative Children’s Christian Preschool, Kids Korner Preschool, and the Creative Confidence Art School (formerly the Traveling Teacher Art School). She still continued to travel, even though many of those more recent trips were much closer to home. She spent the holidays having dinner at the home of her former colleague and close friend, Gail O’Mara. She loved to travel to holiday-themed gift stores, and she attended the Rhinebeck Fair in Dutchess County to see animal exhibits. As a member of the Lincoln Group of New York, she often attended its dinners and programs with former colleagues Bruce Cohen, Tom Briody, and Paul Ellis-Graham. She was a passionate fan of the game show JEOPARDY! and the movie channel Turner Classic Movies. And finally, while drawing inspiration from her good friend and former colleague Tom Dames, she joined the Cornwall Library’s Members Choice Book Club, often recommending titles from her vast collection of new books that interested her. When it came to furthering her education, there were no limits.

For all those who loved her, Greta Cohen’s passing is MORE than the loss of a friend or family member. It is the loss of a DEAR family member, friend, mother figure, and colleague.

Dr. Cohen was predeceased by her husband Dr. Norman Cohen; her daughter, Lisa Cohen; her brother, Thomas Krasniewicz; and her niece, Natalie Carluccio.

She is survived by her sister-in-law Rose Krasniewicz, her nephew Joseph Krasniewicz, her niece Natalie’s husband James Carluccio, and her grand-nieces and nephews: Jenna and Lena Krasniewicz, and Thomas and Nicolette Carluccio.

Visitation will take place from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Smith, Seaman, and Quackenbush, Inc. Funeral Home, 117 Maple Ave., Monroe, NY. A Funeral Service will begin at 4:30 P.M. at the funeral home.

Cremation will take place at Cedar Hill Crematory in Middle Hope, NY.

Memorial donations may be made to:

NYU Grossman School of Medicine, School of Medicine Greatest Needs - NYU Langone Health

Brandeis University, Brandeis University · GiveCampus

Arrangements by Smith, Seaman & Quackenbush, Inc. Funeral Homes, Monroe.

(845) 782-8185 or www.ssqfuneralhome.com.