By JOSEPH KELLARD
"Jake was full of energy, always smiling, always wanting to play ‹ happy, loving, giving," said his mother, Julie Cohen.
"He had the best personality of anyone I know," said Lia Chu, Julie's niece, during Jake's funeral at Gutterman's Inc. in Rockville Centre. "... No matter what was going on, all he could do was smile."
In her eulogy, Lia said she had no fondest memory of Jake, because she was "in awe over his entire life," learning "what life was all about in just five years of knowing someone." Lia recalled visiting Jake in a hospital after he suffered his first seizure in August, when, she said, she entered his room and "to no one's surprise, I was greeted with a big smile."
"He had a smile that could light up a room," said Pat Zeff, Jake's teacher at the Hebrew Academy for Special Children (HASC) in Woodmere.
Born on Aug. 14, 2000, at South Nassau Communities Hospital, Jake was the loving son of Julie, 45, and Barbara Cohen, 48, a couple who moved from Baldwin to Oceanside not long after their first son, Joey, 7, was born. Julie and Barbara enrolled Jake in HASC when he was 3, and Zeff soon discovered that Jake had "a cute sense of humor" and loved laughing with his friends in class, she said. She recalled that Jake enjoyed the nature walks her classes took through local neighborhoods, where his interests ranged from the colorful flowers that lined the paths to the big rocks and sticks he would take back to class for show and tell.
"He was a very strong presence in the class, so he was definitely missed when he left our school," Zeff said.
Jake went on to attend the Kindergarten Center at School 6 in Oceanside, where his teacher, Kerri Chiara, found that when he was outside on the playground, Jake often looked skyward for his winged friends. "He'd say, ŒI see a bird! I see a bird!¹ And then he'd tell me to get it for him," Chiara laughed.
Jake was friendly and quick to give others compliments, telling fellow classmates they had beautiful hair or nice shoes or pretty teeth, Chiara said. "Overall, he was just a delightful child," she added. "You couldn't have asked for a brighter sunshine to have in your classroom."
Jake was also active and physical, whether on the school playground or at home, playfully wrestling with his brother and friends. "It was funny ‹ every day when I'd go to pick up Joey at the playground, all his friends would say, 'Oh, there's Joey's brother!' and they'd all run in the other direction," Julie recalled with amusement. If Jake, who was know for his ox-like strength, wasn't trying to pin his brother, then he was chasing after girls and earning a reputation as a ladies¹ man. A week before he died, Jake pulled Lia onto the dance floor at a bar mitzvah "and he danced the night away," she recalled.
When Barbara got home in her plumber's work van each evening, Jake would run out, jump in the driver's seat and pretend to drive. "My family had our hands full with this little one, and we loved every minute of it," Lia said.
Inspired by a Gandhi quote, Lia said that Jake "learned as if nothing could stop him and was undaunted in his adventures and everything he did. ... We should all take from his excellence, and strive to love half as much as he did."
The Cohen family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, and now each Dec. 25 they will celebrate Jake's life, Julie said. Meanwhile, others in the community, the Cohens' friends and Jake's educators, have taken steps to remember Jake year-round at School 6. They established the Jake Cohen Fund, contributions to which will go toward planting a tree and creating a garden in Jake's name on the school grounds.
Parents Patty Rizzo and Jeanie Oliver are spearheading this fund-raiser, and first approached Kindergarten Center Principal Rhonda Gelbwasser to get the fund started. "I'm just amazed at how the whole community and school district came together for this," Rizzo said.
Those wishing to donate to the Jake Cohen Fund can either deliver or mail their contributions to the Kindergarten Center, 145 Merle Ave., or to Astoria Federal Savings, 3535 Long Beach Road, both in Oceanside, NY, 1157.
Jake is also survived by two of his grandparents, Veronica Terrill and Edith Cohen.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
