Judy Cohn, 85, passed away June 19, 2021. She was born July 2, 1935, and enjoyed a lifelong love of the arts. From an early age, growing up in Brooklyn, she studied piano and dance at some of the most prestigious schools in New York, and even had the opportunity to attend the then-new, now-famed High School of Performing Arts. As a young adult, she performed in community musical theater. 

When she moved to Dallas in 1974 with her husband Norman and their three children, it wasn’t long before she landed a job as music specialist at the JCC preschool. She eventually left the J to teach piano privately, her studio growing to as many as 20 students. Once her children were grown, Judy went back to school, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Management from UTD in 1987. Upon graduating, she worked with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, bringing in world-renowned musicians and rising stars alike. Within the Dallas Jewish community, Judy is probably best remembered as the cultural programs director at the JCC, a position she held from 1993 until her retirement in 2013. During her tenure, the J brimmed with the arts: artist showcases, youth and adult theater and FamiliArts, a series of both performances and educational programs that were so highly regarded they were included in the DISD curriculum. The events she oversaw weren’t confined to the J: Broadway icons performed at the Eisemann Center and SMU’s Caruth Auditorium; Dallas families opened their homes to tours of their private art collections; and area movie theaters hosted the Jewish Film Fest. Her crowning achievement was the Jewish Arts Fest, an annual event held at the Meyerson Symphony Center that showcased Jewish artists, Jewish musicians and Jewish food. Judy Cohn has truly left an indelible mark on the Dallas Jewish community.

A funeral service was held June 24 at Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home in Dallas.

Donations in Judy’s memory can be made to The Arts Community Alliance (taca-arts.org) or the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org).