Eva was widely loved and respected. Her friends immediately collaborated on an obituary that captured her spirit. Her fellow professors and students quickly followed with testimonials that captured her dedication to the craft of teaching and her tutelage of both peers and mentees.
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Obituary
Comments from students and fellow faculty
“Eva Cohen was a passionate educator that inspired hundreds of students throughout her career. Eva was hired at Diablo Valley College in 2003 and she was the first adjunct instructor to teach Graphic Design for the Art Digital Media program. Over the years Eva and I collaborated on many projects and team taught multiple classes together. Eva did incredible things at Diablo Valley College. She helped develop our typography class. She introduced us to industry partners, designers and artists. She shared curriculum and resources with all the other graphic design instructors. She organized guest artist workshopping events and she often sought exhibition space for her students to show their work to others. Eva was a visionary in education and the students she encouraged and inspired are part of her legacy. I thank you Eva for inspiring me to be a better educator. You were my mentor and friend.”
(Joann Denning, Professor of Art Digital Media, Diablo Valley College)
“I first met Eva when I took her typography class. I was new in the world of design, and had only a vague idea of where this industry would take me. After day one of that class, I knew that what I was learning here was something special. Week after week, Eva opened up an entire world of art and design and thought that I previously had only vaguely understood. Eva was a dynamic instructor, a passionate life-long learner, and an empathetic, open-minded friend and mentor to me. She was always ready with a joke or quip or suggestion – no matter how brutally honest she needed to be, she always communicated in love and respect. Some of my first job opportunities came through Eva and the connections I made in her class, both as a student and a teacher’s aide. I credit my career today to her deft instruction and partnership both professionally and personally. She will be sorely missed, but remembered always for her boundless spirit and relentlessly positive outlook. I see fully now the impact she had not only on me, but in countless others who have expressed their sincere appreciation for her contribution in their life. Love you, Eva!”
(Grant Barringer, Student)
“Eva was one of our finest instructors, always there for her students and colleagues. Her interests were many and the love and joy she brought to her teaching was an inspiration to all. Her lovely presence will be missed. My prayers for her family to find peace and comfort in knowing that Eva made a positive difference for so many lives.”
(Michele A Krup, Professor of Art, DVC)
I remember being in Eva’s typography class spring semester of 2019. She was caring and very considerate of the different backgrounds we all had as art students. She always made sure to make it a point to take the time to talk to each student individually and see where they were at and if they needed help she would be right there. She was so nice and caring, she will be missed.
(Kaitlin G, Student)
Professor Cohen was a very cheerful and passionate educator. I was in her graphic design course last semester, where she taught me so many new skills and perspectives. I remember her sharing a funny video in class to help us feel comfortable. She was very encouraging with everyone and with every idea we came up with. I’m very thankful to have known her and be a student of hers. I will truly miss her.
(Madeline Iswaranata, Student)
Several years ago Eva expressed her interest in letterpress in A101 for her Typography class. She and I invited letterpress artists for typeset workshops several times. Then we took letterpress classes together from City College of San Francisco in order to give workshops by ourselves and to develop the DVC letterpress area. We were classmates at CCSF Mission campus for 9 Saturdays in FA 2018. Even though she teaches Graphic Design as digital media, she wished to work more with physical material as an artist. She loved tactile quality of wood types and layering inks over and over. We worked together very hard and chatted during lunch break. Eva was so positive and fun person to talk and work with. She started to work with the DVC letterpress and was planning to work more over the winter break. I was hoping she will be developing the letterpress area with me soon. So her death is too sudden. I feel like I lost someone who could become a great collaborator.
(Toru Sugita, Professor of Art, DVC)
I took the course on Typography. I found Eva to be a great teacher- very supportive, made the subject interesting, and obviously enjoyed teaching. But her personality was obviously incredible and I will miss her. She was warm, open-minded, funny, sometimes self-deprecating, mellow, youthful, enthusiastic, cute, down to earth, and seemed to be enjoying life to its fullest. She gave me helpful hints on an artbook before publication, and I was waiting for school to begin again to bring her a copy. I was shocked to hear the news and feel a real sense of loss, for myself and for future students at DVC. She will always be remembered by me.
(Jeff Levy, Student)
I was in her typography class last spring. I remember her as a genuinely kind, caring instructor who had expert knowledge in the field of graphic design.
(Robert Sherman, Student)
I have taken Eva’s Typography class in the spring of 2019 and became her assistant last semester. I witnessed her care for every student in her class and she always wanted to help students succeed by providing one-on-one feedback. She showed me her thesis project in college when she knew I was working on a project for my portfolio. She also lend a book to me which was very helpful to my project. Her kind contribution means a lot to me and I appreciated it so much. I was lucky to work with her and chat with her after class. She was not only a respectful professor but also a close mentor and friend. On the last day of the school semester, we organized students’ works together and chatted about her plan for her upcoming class next semester. I thought I was able to see her and work with her again. Looking back, I was thankful that I wrote a thank you card to her on the last day to express my gratitude because I would never have another chance to say thank you to her again. Rest in peace, Eva. I miss you.
(Christy Hu, Student and TA)
Professor Cohen was an astounding typography teacher, and was always willing to help struggling students with her genuine enthusiasm. The digital media arts department at DVC will not be the same without her.
(Tristan Melewicz, TA)
I took her class this past Fall 2019 and she was such an inspiration to all. She was kind, caring, fair and understanding of her students. She cared so much that she brought us coffee from her favorite shop (Cole Coffee) on collaboration days. I am sadden by your loss and want to wish her husband and son the best with the years to come. We spoke often about my family and hers. She also spoke about her son and how nervous and excited she was for him to start his new venture to high school. She couldn’t believe how quickly her baby has grown up. I want to wish the best to him and let him know that whatever high school he goes to, she will be very proud of him and his accomplishments.
(Helen Hills, Student)
I had just taken Graphic Design with Professor Cohen this last semester and it was absolutely one of my favorite classes I had taken at DVC due to the fact she was teaching it. From the first day, I immediately liked her because of her utter kindness and helpfulness, which she showed me right off the bat. On the last day of class, Eva, a fellow student and I were all perplexed trying to figure out this specific fruit that Eva said was just so delicious and sweet but it was strange looking. To this day I don’t know what fruit Eva was talking about, but I hope one day I get to try this fruit and when I do I’ll think of you Professor.
(Alyssa Morales, Student)
When I first met Eva, I was a little afraid of taking her Typography class. I have horrid penmanship and was legitimately scared of failing, but she told me that it didn’t matter. Eva taught me that Typography was more than just letters and writing, it was so much larger than I could ever have guessed at the time. She taught me that I could use symbols and signs with out shame. That it could be written with anything, anywhere, at anytime. She even gave me praise on my Font Poster assignment on Wingdings, saying that she had never seen some one in her class do it in all her years of teaching. I was glad that she was so proud of me and I couldn’t thank her enough for opening my eyes to it all. It gave me hope that I could pass and do it in my own way, that bad penmanship didn’t have to curse my art. Eva was the first teacher to teach me a skill I was afraid of and helped me see the truth of what Typography really means, to portray a message through more than just words, but through the shapes of each character. The most important of which to Eva was showing us her smile, a character of all things….found in wingdings. Thank you Eva, next time I see Wingdings, I’ll remember you for teaching me the value of that smile.
(Andrew Phelan, Student)
Day one of a Typography class, Eva was getting to know her students from her questionnaires. She went one on one to every single student. I remembered how she was excited to know that I wanted to create my own typeface. After I completed her class, though I wasn’t her student in a current class anymore, we were still connected. She always allowed me sneaking in her class using a computer and sometimes gave me feedback of my design work with truly sincere. It was like a bolt out of the blue when I knew she passed. It was just couple weeks we last met. I couldn’t believe it was a last meet. I will never forget your sweet smile and kindness, Eva.
(Siripat Virushamornphan, Student)
I had the privilege of taking from Eva’s typography class last semester. She was a great teacher who knew the material she was teaching, and basically made the class a fun, laid-back, and outgoing experience. She had a playlist from Pandora to which she would use on a regular basis during lab time when the class would do their projects, and she really interacted with each student and provided timely feedback on their assignments. She was kind, supportive, and funny at times. We will miss her dearly.
(Chris Walker, Student)
Professor Cohen was someone I knew as passionate and kind. It was through that passion and kindness of her that led me to where I am today, for that, I will always be thankful for her.
(Ynhi Hong, Student)
Eva is one of my favorite graphic design teachers I have in DVC, she was charismatic with all design students and she was so passionate with her work, she demonstrates her passion for letterpress printing, and thanks to her I learned a lot in her classes when I was a TA with her. I’m happy I worked with Eva on her typography class every Friday because Eva and I were a good team by helping each student in her class and also giving the students the best experience in graphic design and typography, one of the things I will remember for Eva that she was one of my best friends because when I was taking my design classes in SF State she always gave me advice about my work and she was happy to see my work, especially about Letterpress printing. Eva will be always on my heart, I will remember her always, we are going to miss you.
(Mauricio Morazan, Student)