Betty H. Kogen

Following is the obituary for BETTY H. KOGEN, submitted by her family.

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Betty H. Kogen died peacefully in Westport, Connecticut, on January 15, at the age of 94 years. She was born on Jan. 1, 1931, and lived her life with joy and appreciation. 

Born in Philadelphia, she married David H. Kogen, the love of her life. She had friends, young and old, and was frequently at the post office sending notes and birthday cards. Betty never missed the opportunity to express a kind word to the people in her life, from her cherished clockmaker to her adored auto mechanic and favorite cashiers at Trader Joe’s.

Betty loved Martha’s Vineyard. “The Kogen Barn,” the name of David and Betty’s summer home in Chilmark, was a gathering place for family and friends for over 40 years.

For Betty, all holidays were occasions to be marked and celebrated. The front door of her home reflected her spirit, the decorations changing with each red-letter day on the calendar. On the eve of Halloween, after baking dozens of ginger snaps, decorating the house, and dressing up in costume, her husband David would admonish her not to have more fun than the children.

Betty’s hands were always busy, books piled by her bedside. There was no creative project she could not tackle and accomplish without alacrity and ease. She often would say, “If you can read, you can cook.” Self-taught, her cooking and baking skills were marvels. She canned fruit and preserves, churned ice cream, knit beautiful sweaters for her family, and sewed dresses and coats for her daughters. She was the consummate hostess.

Betty’s strong sense of civic duty led her to serve on the condominium boards of her longtime Connecticut residences: Vantage Point in East Norwalk and The Saugatuck in Westport. She was integral in launching programs that enhanced these communities, from clothing drives for Goodwill to instituting flu shots, blood drives and speaking events for her fellow residents. She suffered lasting effects from an acoustic neuroma brain tumor for half of her adult life, but never dwelled on it.

Outside her home, Betty was equally active in her community. She served as vice president of the Norwalk Symphony Society and volunteered for eight years at Norwalk Hospital, contributing 700 service hours. Betty was proud to have originated the weekly twilight picnics at Westport’s Compo Beach for the YMCA “Y’s Women.” 

She volunteered at the Westport Library, organizing remote book-lending kiosks at the beach and train station, and was a frequent volunteer usher at Westport Country Playhouse. 

In addition, Betty was a true patriot and loved this country. She thoroughly celebrated her great fortune living in a democracy and never missed the opportunity to work at the polls on Election Day, well into her 80s.

Before living in Connecticut, Betty had a long history of contributing to her Maplewood, N.J., community, where she received the prestigious “Woman of the Year” award in 1974. She served as president of the League of Women Voters, vice president of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Women’s Society, was on the Board of Governors of the Maplewood/South Orange (New Jersey) YMCA and the board of the Maplewood Memorial Library. At Jefferson Elementary School in Maplewood, Betty served several years on the Parent-Teachers Association board, eventually becoming co-president.

Betty’s professional careers included being a comparison shopper for Lit Brothers Department Store (Philadelphia) and director of public relations for Bloomingdale’s (Short Hills, N.J.). Here, she organized special events and had many colorful stories. 

Always seeking to find the humor in situations, she loved to retell this one in particular: Betty volunteered to pick up Julia Child at Newark Airport for an in-store cooking demonstration and book signing. The renowned and quite tall chef was not particularly pleased to fold herself into Betty’s yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Generally quite the conversationalist, Betty said the car ride to and from Bloomingdale’s was unusually quiet.

Betty was predeceased by her beloved husband David, her parents, Mary and Samuel Hubsher of Philadelphia, and her brother Stanley, who died while serving in World War II and received both the Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals for Distinguished Service. 

Betty is survived by her children, Michael, Bonni (Andrew) Brodnick and Pamela (Michael) Morandi. She also leaves her grandchildren, David Brodnick (Libby Mattern), Annaclaire Brodnick (Veneel Bhupathiraju), Rebecca Kogen, and great-grandson Bowie Brodnick.

We are grateful to everyone at Maplewood at Strawberry Hill for the love and dedicated care they bestowed upon Betty and the kind and gentle oversight of the Waveny Hospice team.

A celebration of Betty’s magnificent life will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Waveny Hospice in New Canaan.