Sally Kain Cohane

On January 22, 2020, with her family at her side, Sally Kain Cohane passed away as peacefully and gently as she had lived for 91 years. We called her Saint Sally for so many many reasons. Suffice to say, six children-five boys and one girl (three born within 10 1/2 months of each other) a "sixth son", Billy Levene, and a husband who for over 65 years regaled her pretty much daily of his glory days on the starting five of the Manhattan College basketball team, is a good start.

Our Mom was kind long before being kind was something we had to be reminded to be. She had a deeply compassionate heart and there was not a judgmental bone in her 5'3" frame. She was also the most selfless person and always preferred to have the spotlight shine on anyone but herself. Our father got all the applause for his magic tricks, but it was our Mother who was the Real Magic. While our father threw the balled-up handkerchief unseen over the heads of his subjects, she was the one who caught it and silently passed it to him as he then pretended to pull it out of someone's ear or shirt collar. Our mother just stood in the background while our father was the one who got all the attention and accolades. Without exaggeration, she caught that handkerchief one thousand times and it wasn't until about 850 that her eye rolling started.

While we knew our Mother didn't like attention, we were not fully aware of how little she liked it until we almost killed her at their surprise 50th wedding anniversary party. As Mom stepped through the door at Harborview Market, she was overwhelmingly surprised with a room filled with her family and friends. As the band started playing "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" our Mother (who did we mention NEVER EVER complained) quietly said that she had a pain in her chest and that it was going down her arm. We thought that perhaps the years of her favorite splurge on pretzels and cream cheese had finally taken a toll on what had been until this moment her perfect health, but that was not the case. It was the sudden shock from all the attention that brought about her heart attack. As the ambulance was rushing her to the hospital the only thing she kept saying over and over was, "I'm so sorry I ruined the party."

Our Mother's purpose in life and what brought her absolute joy was simply spending time with her children, 13 grand children-Micaela, Conor, Kaitlin, Addie, Mackenzie, Finnegan, Callahan, Kiera, Carly, Courtney, Nolan, Maeve and Quinn and five great grandchildren-Maisie, McGinnis, Gavin, Henley and Dylan. She cherished every moment she was in the company of her family. We will forever miss laughing with her. She was our BEST audience and we all realized sadly that perhaps no one will ever think we are as funny as our Mother did.

To help our Mom make leaving us all easier, we reminded her of who she would be seeing in this next chapter-Her beloved Father, John Kain and her Mother, Marie Finnegan Kain, her two sisters, Jeanne McLoughlin and Delphine Goss whom she adored and we believe are laughing together at this moment, her brother, Jack Kain, her cousin/brother, Dan Capozzi, and her sister-in-law and brothers-in-law who were equally important to her.

Sally leaves behind her husband of 65 years, Gerry Cohane, her adoring children-her favorite (and only) daughter and very best friend, MaryKate Cohane, her five sons, Rod and his wife Terri, Jack and his wife, Stacey, Neal and his wife, Lisa, Greg and his husband, Bob and Brendan and his wife, Jaime. As well, she leaves behind so many nieces and nephews whom she loved so greatly.

When her Great Grandson, five year old McGinnis, "Mac" saw our Mother towards the end, he said that "it looks like, Grandma-Grandma is starting to go up into the sky to see God and someday when I get old I'll go up in the sky, too, to see God and I'll see Grandma-Grandma again. We believe that, Mac. We do believe that. You did good Mom and we'll love you forever.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1719 Post Road, Fairfield. Interment will follow in St. Thomas Cemetery. Friends may greet the family Friday from 5-8 p.m. in the Spear-Miller Funeral Home, 39 South Benson Road, Fairfield. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Sally's memory may be made to Mercy learning Center, 637 Park Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06604