Tribute to Roderick William Cohenour

By Melinda 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.