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Roderick William Cohenour
This is one of the most difficult announcements I have ever made. Our family recently lost our beloved Pop to a sudden and unexpected systemic health crisis. Thinking we were faced with, at worst, surgery to correct an issue causing recurring infections, Rod had just returned from the hospital where lab tests had been initiated. Before he could even get back to bed, we got a call from his cardiologist advising he must immediately return to be admitted. Tests revealed his renal system was failing. That call was the 20th of April. What followed was a nightmare sequence of findings that required emergency dialysis among other procedures designed to save him, all of which were futile.
Rod's brother Chris was able to rush to his side. My daughter, Melissa, was a stalwart anchor for him as well. Our grandson Blake, a Methodist minister, came from South Texas. Other grandsons Cole and Shaun and great grandson Kingston all visited their Pop. The time was too short for other family members to travel to his side.
There is no way to adequately express how much Rod has meant
to our family. He has provided unwavering love, guidance, and protection
for all. Adam, Erin, Blake and Cole never knew a different grandfather.
Our next generation Peyton, Bricklin, Tristan, Kingston, and Chevy
always had Pop. Little Arlo and baby sister Vidia were cherished by Pop
although their memories lack personal interaction. Our nephew Earl has
lived with us for many years now. He and Rod have enjoyed so many good
memories.
Shaun says his greatest memories of Pop are how funny he
could be and how dependable. If Shaun had an appointment, Pop made sure
he was there and on time. He enjoyed watching TV with him, too. So many
great movies.
Every single family member has their own personal memory of
how Pop enriched their life. Melissa often turned to him to obtain his
insight on how best to deal with work related quandaries. That insight
often provided a fresh approach and a lesson in people skills.
Rod's experience was extensive and ranged from his scientific
endeavors as a Research Fellow at Bell Labs to project management
requiring the ability to weave together the skills of various
telecommunications disciplines to seamlessly accomplish successful
completion of the project du jour on time and within budget. Somehow, he
managed to make it all work while earning respect and forging lifelong
friendships in the process. AT&T holds patents for his work in
Switch engineering, Radio, Satellite, Microwave and innovations in
procedural research methods.
Prisca, our granddaughter-in-love, credits Pop with being the
Father she never really had. He tirelessly worked with her to teach
cooking skills. She has become a creative and intuitive chef. She smiles
remembering their grocery shopping trips. Pop always managed to make
her laugh.
From the beginning, Rod was a welcome addition to our family.
My mother and father were impressed with his willingness to pitch in to
help with whatever was on the agenda. He helped enclose the patio with
recycled windows. He and my dad used their engineering skills to work
out how best to pair up the framed glass to form the glass enclosure.
There was more than one occasion to laugh, however. One
memorable mishap came about when DaddyJack and Rod decided to fix the
garage door. The heavy wooden door was supported by coiled springs on
either side. One side of the door had somehow come loose from the heavy
duty coiled 6 foot long metal spring causing the door to gap open on one
side. The plan was for Rod to grasp the spring using his body weight to
stretch it out and permit it to be reattached to the door frame. All
was going well when a miscommunication caused DaddyJack to let go of the
other side of the door before Rod's spring had been secured in place.
This caused the heavy coiled spring to launch Rod into the air. I had
visions of the old cartoons with the coyote and the roadrunner where
poor ole coyote would fly into space leaving a perfect coyote-shaped
hole in the roof. Rod survived that one.
My sister Noralee, her caretaker and companion Bill Hagler
and Rod and I enjoyed many, many hours together playing 42 Dominos or
Canasta or board games. Both Noralee and Bill and sister's two sons,
David and Earl had Muscular Dystrophy. Rod and I drove their group to MD
Camp each summer. We enjoyed the camaraderie of the campers and
counselors. Later, we volunteered to assist with the Boys' camping. All
but Earl are now gone. As mentioned earlier, Earl came to live with us
these past several years. He is heartbroken and, as he verbalized, angry
at losing his Uncle Rod.
Rod's love of animals was legendary. His childhood included
horses and Dammit the goat and brother Chris' mule providing endless
fodder for storytelling. Puppy dogs and kitty cats were automatically
drawn to him. He even charmed the raccoons, possums and wild turkeys who
inhabited our acreage at Yonder Hills outside Guthrie. His Heavenly
abode is undoubtedly occupied by so many ... Bermuda the standard
Chihuahua, little Tito the toy Chihuahua, 'Staches our Tuxedo cat,
Empress Emma Momma Kitty and now sweet Penelope "Penny" our Dachshund.
Personally, I cherish the memories we shared all these years
together. I will forever be thankful we had the opportunity to work side
by side for so many years. Our last working years were spent doing cell
site projects. Our work involved projects from California to Utah to
Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas to
name a few. So many fabulous memories, so many friends, excellent food,
outlandish experiences ... All lovingly shared.
Rod was a Vietnam era veteran, a United States Marine who
served his country honorably for nine and a half years. Semper Fi, my
love.
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