Dr. Herbert E. Cohn

Herbert Edward Cohn, MD, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, an acclaimed thoracic surgeon at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for over 50 years, died peacefully on March 10, 2025, at Seashore Gardens Living Center in Galloway, New Jersey. He was 94 years old.

Born in Philadelphia, he was the son of Lee and Robert Cohn. The third of four boys in that household, he vied for attention with golden boy oldest brother Melvin, mischievous second oldest brother Stanley, and baby brother Jay, 13 years his junior. This was, he once shared, a tough place to get center stage. Then, at age 14, he came down with meningitis, an infection that 10 years earlier would have been untreatable and likely fatal. He was fortunate that sulfa antibiotics had recently been developed and that he had a dedicated family physician who got him through the lengthy illness. The experience inspired him to consider a career in medicine and despite the setback to his education he was determined to succeed.

Once he was accepted to Rutgers University he began to reach his full potential. Not only did he get straight A’s as a premed student, he also joined a fraternity where he made lifelong friends and became a grillmaster extraordinaire as the frathouse cook. He graduated in 1951 at the top of his class. Around this time, he went on a double date with a buddy of his. As often seems to happen in these situations, he had instant chemistry with the other guy’s date. Her name was Natalie Brait (“best date of ‘48”). She, too, was smitten, and the rest, as they say, was history. They married in 1953.

After college, Herb began his medical training at Jefferson Medical College where he would receive the freshman Anatomy Prize and numerous other accolades for academic excellence before graduating first in his class in 1955. He was accepted into the prestigious Jefferson Surgical Residency, where he would be trained on the service of the esteemed John Gibbon. He interned at Atlantic City Hospital where, on his first weekend on call, he famously had to scrub in on numerous trauma cases following a multicar pile up on the Black Horse Pike. He probably loved every minute of it. From 1957-1959 he served in the US Air Force in Fort Worth, TX, and received an Air Force Commendation Medal. After moving back to Philadelphia, he completed his training and was appointed to the Jefferson faculty in 1962.

For the next 50 years, his surgical practice focused on thoracic and endocrine surgery. He became known as the “go-to” surgeon for thyroid disorders in Philadelphia. He also earned a reputation as an exceptional educator with high expectations. He was the director of the surgical residency at Jefferson where, among his hundreds of trainees, he was both feared and revered. As described by one former resident, “Dr. Cohn is a brilliant surgeon, and is both technically and academically a perfectionist.” Those who aspired to be the best of the best profited immensely from his tutelage. Those who couldn’t distinguish the inferior thyroid artery from the recurrent laryngeal nerve probably had nightmares. He received the Lindback Award for Distinguished teaching in 1980.

In contrast to what could be an intimidating teaching style, Herb had a gentle bedside manner and was beloved by his patients, not just because he was a top clinician but mainly because of the way he put them at ease in the face of serious illness. He felt the physician-patient relationship was sacred, and on post-op rounds would never think of speaking to a patient without sitting at the bedside and taking their hand.

He was recognized numerous times at Jefferson for his achievements as a surgeon. He was selected by one graduating class for the honor of having his portrait painted, an uncanny rendering which still hangs in the Department of Surgery. He was named the first Anthony Narducci, MD Professor of Surgery in 1998. In 2009 he was celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement in Medicine gala. He retired in 2014.

One would think that with such a prolific surgical career there would have been little time for leisure activities and home life. And one would be partially correct. His days started at 6 AM and often he was not home till 8 PM. But he didn’t come across as an absent father. In large part, this was a tribute to Natalie who made sure that dinner was not served till he got home so the family could eat together and enjoy each other’s company. He shared his love of (and occasional impatience with) Philly sports teams with his three sons and brought them to many milestone games, including the game one World Series win of the 1980 Phillies. He was an avid golfer, a sport he enjoyed with Natalie on many weekends, the technical aspects of which he tried to impart to his sons with varying degrees of success and frustration. He was an accomplished joke-teller, especially when the narrator had a Yiddish accent. He loved the beach and, in particular, was an expert quoits player, hurling the thick rubber ring toward the stake with the same precision as when looping a suture around a bleeding vessel.

Herb cherished his family: Natalie, his wife of nearly 60 years who predeceased him in 2013, his 3 sons Jeffrey, Richard, and David, their wives Marcie, Nancy, and Cindy, his grandchildren Ali (Rob), Josh (Natalia), Michael (Michelle), Jenna (Dave), Stephen (Janelle), Dan (Emma), and Jordan, and many great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. In the last 10 years of his life, he was very fortunate to fall in love with Honey Friedman, who remembered him as the kind and dapper surgeon who had operated on her decades earlier. She became his constant companion and was with him on his final day.

Interment will be private.

Donations in memory of Dr. Herbert Cohn may be made to Jefferson’s Department of Surgery Research & Education Fund. Please donate online at www.jefferson.edu/GiveSurgery (“Department of Surgery” pull-down), or make checks payable to Jefferson, note “Memorial – Dr. Herbert Cohn” in the memo, and mail to: Jefferson Office of Institutional Advancement, 1101 Market Street, 22nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107.