Sam Cohodas

ISHPEMING — In 1970, a committee of almost 100 began to plan a huge 75th birthday party for Sam Cohodas to honor him and celebrate his birthday. But for Sam, it was a bittersweet event as two people who were very dear to him were not there to celebrate with him.

The first was his beloved wife, Evelyn. In 1921, after the family turned its focus from retail to wholesale, Sam advertised for a girl to help with bookkeeping. His first interview was with a French girl. She was then working with Lake Superior Produce, but things were slowing down. She had experience in produce and knew the language of the business and Sam felt she could take on added responsibilities, so he hired her. Her name was Evelyn Tourville.

Evelyn was a lifelong resident of Ishpeming. She was born on April 4, 1895, so she was a few months older than Sam. She graduated from Ishpeming Public Schools and attended Ishpeming Business College. She was active in several community organizations and was a member of the Lady Elks and the Ladies Auxiliary of the American Legion.

In 1929, he married Evelyn in a civil ceremony. The two made the conscious decision to not have children due to their religions. So, it was just the two of them and their dogs. In their later years the two of them would winter in Sarasota, Florida. By the time she reached her 75th birthday, arthritis had struck, limiting her activities. In May 1970, she and Sam were scheduled to entertain guests from K.I. Sawyer at the lodge in Champion, when she became ill. Sam took her to Bell Memorial Hospital as a precaution and then went back to Champion to welcome his guests. Evelyn had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and suffered a second one before passing away on June 14, 1970.

The second loss was his brother Harry. It was Harry who held his hand when they left the boat that had brought them to America, 67 years ago. It was Harry and Sam who went to the Copper Country to sell produce when Harry was 19 and Sam was 13.

Harry had gone to a dinner party with his third wife, Ida Sherman in April of 1970. The car lost control and struck a tree. When Harry got out to assess the damage, the car rolled back, striking him and one of Harry’s vertebrae was fractured, leaving him paralyzed. He was taken to Mayo’s, but nothing could be done for him at that time and so he was brought home to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hancock.

Harry passed away on Aug. 18. Out of the five Cohodas brothers, just two, Sam and Max remained.

The birthday party went on as planned and 1,284 people showed up to celebrate with him. The party had to be moved to the Hedgecock Fieldhouse with a special, plastic floor poured. Sam’s 80th birthday would be celebrated in a similar fashion.