Kay Cohen, age 86 years, of Clinton passed away at her home Wednesday, September 20, 2017.  Funeral services will be Monday, September 25, 2017, 1:00PM at Vansant-Mills Funeral Home, Clinton, Missouri with interment in the Englewood Cemetery, Clinton.  Family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Humane Society and may be left in care of Vansant-Mills Funeral Home.  Condolences and fond memories may be left online at www.vansant-millsfuneralhome.com .

Born in 1930 (we're sure she won't be happy with us for revealing that) our mom, or Woman, as she was known to many, lived a full and fun-filled life.  A lifelong resident of Clinton, mom reveled in life and always looked forward to every day as an adventure.  She held various jobs in Clinton throughout her life, from working the soda fountain in her parent's tavern, the Smokehouse, to running The Music Shop, to working for Dr. Bradshaw, and for many years working at the Clinton Daily Democrat.  Mom met the love of her life, Joe Cohen, at the Smokehouse and they were married a number of years before he died in 1969.  Their marriage resulted in three children, JB (Roxanna) Cohen of Columbia, MO., Becky (Jay) Morgan of St. Petersburg, FL., and Amy (Rob) Manning of Clinton, MO.  Mom was an equal opportunity parent-making each of us feel special in our own way, but we all know our sister, Amy, was mom's best friend.

Mom was a talented pianist with an affinity for and deep love of music.  It was very fitting then that she purchased The Music Shop on Jefferson Street and ran it for a number of years.  Many of us Clinton baby boomers will remember going to The Music Shop to buy 45s or albums of the latest top 100 on Billboard.  A free jukebox played all the latest hits and there was never a dull moment at the Music Shop.  Special orders were never too much trouble, with the mantra, "check back Friday" engrained in us.

Our mom was also very skilled at crafts, and soon expanded the Shop to include craft supplies and examples of the latest trends in home crafting.  Mom and several of her friends created the "Do-Biddy" club that met weekly to create various works of art.  It is at The Music Shop that our dad hosted the Saturday morning radio show on KDKD, the Coaches Corner, with Coach Ritchie among others, to discuss the Cardinals' wins (or losses) from the night before.  It is also at the Shop where Mom befriended many of our friends, especially our dear friend, David (Hot) Birdsong, who later purchased The Music Shop from mom.  Hot has been a lifelong friend of the family.  He and his wife Jill always made time to visit mom, and we daresay she enjoyed his visits more than ours.

Mom was a lover of animals and if a stray needed a home, mom was a good bet for it.  She in fact is survived by her furry family, too, including her longtime companion, her dog Bearly, her cats Box and Lipstick, and her new kitten, Penelope.  Mom was a lifelong fan of Westerns and as far as she was concerned, John Wayne never made a bad movie and Gunsmoke should still be on prime time today.

Mom was a charmer and even in the last years of her life, with her health declining, she managed to befriend her caregivers and make friends with whomever she came into contact.  Mom could talk current events with the best of us and stayed up to date on the news, through dedicated reading of the Democrat (and the Kayo) was well as watching television.  She was always happy to tease and laugh.  She loved life and if she had any regrets, it would be that she didn't get to live longer.

All of our parents teach us lessons throughout our lives, and our mom was no exception.  Mom taught us how to live and age well, how to persevere, how to have a good work ethic, and how to be good to people.  No matter what curve balls life had in store, she always took those in stride and moved on with life.  For the last two decades she lived with Amy, not only her best friend, but in the end, her caregiver.  They spent countless hours talking and laughing together.

To paraphrase Robert Louis Stevenson, "(t)hat(woman) is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much."  Mom lived her life that way, embracing it every day and by that definition, mom was an enourmous success.

Mom is survived by us three kids and our spouses Roxanna Cohen, Jay Morgan and Rob Manning; 4 grandkids Jody Cohen, Joshua Cohen and his wife Michelle, Jake Cohen and his wife Layla, and Joseph Hubbard and his wife Tara; a number of great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild; her brother Kit Anderson and his wife Darlene; nieces and nephews on both sides of the family, and a large group of wonderful friends.
Mom was preceded in death by her husband as well as her parents, Mason Anderson Jr. and Dorothy Weir Anderson.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Vansant-Mills Funeral Home of Clinton, Missouri.