Cohen Stephen J.
Stephen J. Cohen November 30, 1948 - November 19, 2016 San Diego Stephen J. Cohen, 67, of Del Mar, CA, passed away at home on November 19,
2016 from an aggressive cancer with his longtime companion, Adele Rabin, by his side. Stephen was born in Tucson, AZ on November 30, 1948 to Rosalin Weingarten Cohen and the late David Wolff Cohen. He graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1970 with a BA in Economics, and then served in the US Army’s Strategic Communications and Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca, AZ. Stephen moved to San Diego in 1978.
He is survived by his daughter, Nicole April Cohen of Carlsbad; his brother, Raymond Cohen of Albuquerque, NM; his mother, Rosalin Cohen, also of Albuquerque; his niece Suzanne Cohen and great nephew Zane Cohen of San Diego; and his life partner of 20 years, Dr. Adele
Rabin. Mr. Cohen was a successful businessman, philanthropist and community leader.
He started his investment management career at Dean Witter in 1978. Mr. Cohen founded San Diegobased, Private Asset Management, Inc. (PAM) in 1992 which today manages nearly $900 million, for three generations of clients’ families, with offices in San Diego, Costa Mesa and Indian Wells. He also founded Private Tax Service, Inc., and Private Fiduciary Management. Mr. Cohen was a managing partner for Warehousing of New Mexico Ltd, Co., and a builder, owner and manager of commercial properties. He always wanted a pizza restaurant and, in 2008, established Coal Fired Funding which partnered to create URBN Coal Fired Pizza and URBN Catering. If it is true that the most important things that we leave behind are the good deeds that we performed during our life time, Mr. Cohen leaves an enormous legacy. He was a devoted community servant and philanthropist. He served as a founding father and three-term founding president of Temple Solel in Encinitas, CA. A broad range of organizations benefited from his visionary and leadership skills and from his generosity of spirit and resource. Among these were: Seacrest Village Retirement Communities, San Diego Natural History Museum (theNAT), UCSDMoores Cancer Center, Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute; Hillel, Jewish Family Services, UCSD Foundation, and the Salk Institute. He served on the boards of many organizations including Seacrest Village, Seacrest Foundation, theNAT, and Hubbs-Seaworld Research Institute; and as president of several private foundations including the Melvin Garb Foundation, SternLeichter Foundation, Birdwell Family Foundation, and his own Stephen J. Cohen Private Asset Management Foundation. Although his broad philanthropic reach provided keen satisfaction, he obtained the greatest pleasure from seeing the immediate, personal impact of his support. For example, Stephen ensured that patients battling cancer had transportation to and from their treatments, and that patients and their families were able to receive needed psychological and emotional support at UCSDMoore’s cancer center. He provided funding to guarantee that residents of Seacrest Village would enjoy the activities and outings that enrich their lives. And, when he learned that five businessmen had withdrawn their promise to fund college scholarships for five deserving students, Stephen acted swiftly to ensure that their studies would continue.
Stephen’s primary passions were his family, his business, and enriching the lives of others. He was a perpetual student of economics. He read avidly, consulted many start-up companies to successful launch and growth, loved gardening, any game involving a ball, long walks and talks with his daughter, Nicole, and traveling the world with his partner, Adele. Stephen was a kind and generous man who always had time for everyone. He led by example; living a life of great integrity and respect for all. His character was sterling and he had a heart of gold; the milk of loving kindness flowed through his veins. A pillar of the community with a beautiful soul, Stephen will be deeply mourned, profoundly missed, and remembered with love and deep respect. Funeral services were held Tuesday, November 22 at Temple Solel of Encinitas followed by interment at Cypress View Mausoluem. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Seacrest Foundation, Temple Solel or a charity of personal choice.