Doctor Establishes Fund To Honor His Wife

Roger Cohen, MD

For decades, Drs. Roger and his late wife Elsa Cohen had been generous donors to Children’s Wisconsin. However, their gifts took on new meaning when Elsa, who had been battling a very aggressive form of leukemia, decided that she wanted to enjoy as best she could her remaining time. It was the evening that Elsa decided against further treatment that Roger started to design a named fund to honor his wife.

When Elsa's struggle with cancer came to an end in December of 1995, Roger established their second endowed fund, one for education in her memory. Two years later, following a meeting where Roger explained his vision for this fund to Jon Vice, then president of Children’s Wisconsin and Health System, Roger combined the Cohens' two funds at Children's into the Elsa B. and Roger D. Cohen MDs Chair for Medical Education. This would be the first-ever joint fund between the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and Children's. "We tilled some new soil," said Roger. In addition to naming the fund as beneficiary of his IRA, this past year Roger increased his estate gift to fully fund the chair position.

The fund is the perfect gift from the Cohens who had both dedicated their lives to teaching medicine. Roger was a pioneering pediatric surgeon at Children's who also taught at MCW. Elsa was a pathologist and educator at MCW for 25 years. Both doctors were extremely respected by their peers and students.

Roger speaks with great fondness and respect for his wife's career. "She was elected by her peers as president of its faculty assembly, as well as to the Society of Teaching Scholars at the Medical College," said Roger. He also has well-earned pride in his own career. One of the earliest certified pediatric surgeons in the country, he was elected five concurrent times to chief of surgery at Children's.

In 2010, Dr. Deborah Simpson was named as the first holder of the Cohen chair, which Roger believes is only appropriate. A good friend to Roger and Elsa, Deb is the "heart and soul" behind this mission to guide residents aspiring to be outstanding clinicians, said Roger. "I believe this would make Elsa very happy."