Dr. Barry Lee Cohan, a local dentist who was active with the Boy Scouts of America for many years, passed away on Thursday, Apr. 17. The Owings Mills resident was 76.
A 1974 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Cohan operated a private dental practice in the Baltimore area for more than four decades.
He also completed a fellowship in the department of surgery at the John F. Kennedy Institute of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, as well as a two-year program in facial pain and temporomandibular joint disorders at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
In 2017, Cohan received the School of Dentistry’s Alumnus of the Year Distinguished Public Service Award for his “leadership, service and contributions to the oral health field, the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and the residents of Maryland.”
Cohan was a past president of the School of Dentistry’s Alumni Association Board of Directors. Since 2011, he served as a part-time assistant professor on the dean’s faculty, spending two days a week teaching residents and undergraduate students in pediatric dentistry and facial pain.
Cohan was the first alumnus to give a major grant in support of the new School of Dentistry building. He and his wife, Adele, established, among other initiatives, a scholarship for a senior student to continue their education in pediatric dentistry.
“Dr. Cohan was a dedicated and valued member of the Dean’s Faculty at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry,” posted the school’s Office of Institutional Advancement. “His unwavering commitment to dental education and the profession made a profound and lasting impression on both colleagues and students alike. He leaves behind a meaningful legacy of excellence, mentorship, and service.”
His professional honors included induction into the Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology, the Gorgas Dental Scholarship Honor Society, and the Gamma Pi Delta Honor Society in Prosthetic Dentistry. He was a fellow in both the American College of Dentists and International College of Dentists.
A member of Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation, Cohan was the recipient of the Silver Beaver Award — the highest award bestowed on a volunteer — for his service to the Boy Scouts of America, and served on the Eagle Board of Review.
Since 2004, he served as the fleet surgeon for the Baltimore Yacht Club and was named “Yachtsman of the Year” by the Chesapeake Commodores Club.
He was also a commander and qualifications examiner for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
On the memorial page of the website for Sol Levinson & Bros. Baltimore resident Stephen R. Rourke wrote, “My son, Gabe Sussman, and I had the good fortune to get to know Barry through his Cub Scouts work. He was an extraordinary leader, a kind and compassionate individual, and in short a mensch in the truest sense of the word. I feel so lucky, individually and as a parent, to have had him as part of my life.”
Cohan is survived by his wife, Adele Cohan (nee Belkowitz); his sons, Jeff Cohan (Jessica Manzone) and Brian Cohan; his sister, Deb Cohan (Larry Austin); his grandchildren, Aiden Anderson, Dominic Laing, and Rhys Cohan; and by his nephew, Mason Austin.
He was predeceased by his parents, Mildred and Daniel Cohan.
Services will be held on Monday, Apr. 21, at 2:30 p.m. at at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road. Interment will be at Oheb Shalom Memorial Park on Berrymans Lane in Reisterstown.
Contributions in his memory may be sent to Boy Scouts of America, c/o Troop 97, 16 Red Mile Court, Reisterstown, Maryland 21136, or the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.
The family will be in mourning at 17 Diamond Crest Court in Northwest Baltimore. Please check Sol Levinson’s website for updated shiva information.
A Baltimore native, Sweren was a collector of artists' books whose own works were displayed in national galleries.
The BCO, founded in 1984, will perform the works of Frank Zappa, Beethoven, Mason Bates and Karena Ingram.
For more than 130 years, Sol Levinson & Bros. has been woven into the fabric of Baltimore’s Jewish community.
Led by local Israel-American cellist Amit Peled, the Mount Vernon Virtuosi aims to inspire people beyond musical enjoyment.