Lillian Cohen
Lillian Cohen was born in 1925 in Providence, Rhode Island, one of three fraternal triplet sisters born to Morris and Anna Narva. She grew up in the Elmwood section of South Providence in a close-knit Jewish community centered around synagogue life, Hebrew school, and family connections. Her father was co-owner of a regional shoe business with retail stores across New England, while her mother maintained a household that included extended family members, including Cohen’s Yiddish-speaking grandmother. Cohen attended summer camps in the Berkshires, participated in Girl Scouts, music lessons, dance programs, and confirmation classes at her Conservative synagogue. During World War II, she witnessed the effects of the war on family members and friends, including her brother, who served in the Army Air Corps in England.
Cohen married Donald “Buddy” Cohen shortly after World War II and later moved from Rhode Island to Lexington, Massachusetts, where they raised four children. Over time, she developed a strong interest in gardening, floral arranging, and landscape design, eventually becoming active in garden clubs, floral exhibitions, and professional design organizations. She worked at the Lexington flower shop Crickets, created floral arrangements for weddings and community events, and participated in flower shows throughout New England, receiving numerous awards for her designs. Cohen also became closely involved in the beautification and landscaping of Temple Emunah, where she contributed to planning and maintaining the gardens and grounds surrounding the synagogue.
On June 1, 1999, Charlotte Kupiec interviewed Lillian Cohen about her upbringing as one of three fraternal triplet sisters in Providence, Rhode Island, and her family’s life within the city’s Jewish community during the 1920s through the postwar period. Cohen describes growing up in the Elmwood section of South Providence, attending Hebrew school and confirmation classes, participating in Girl Scouts and summer camps, and maintaining close relationships with her parents, siblings, grandparents, and extended family. She discusses her father’s shoe business, her family’s immigration history from Eastern Europe, and relatives who emigrated from Poland to Montreal before World War II. Cohen also reflects on the impact of World War II on her family and community, including her brother’s military service and memories of seeing newspaper headlines announcing Germany’s invasion of Poland while visiting the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
Much of the interview focuses on family life, Jewish traditions, music, creativity, and community involvement. Cohen discusses her marriage to Donald “Buddy” Cohen, raising four children in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and maintaining close ties with her sisters throughout adulthood. She describes family holiday gatherings, musical traditions shared across generations, and her interest in genealogy and preserving family history. Cohen also details her long involvement in gardening and floral design, including participation in local garden clubs and floral exhibitions, membership in professional design organizations, and work at the Lexington flower shop Crickets. She explains her role in designing floral arrangements for weddings and synagogue events and describes her extensive contributions to landscaping and beautification efforts at Temple Emunah.
The views expressed in these interviews are solely those of the speakers and do not reflect the positions of JWA or its affiliates.
