Joan Delores Darthard Cogen, a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, “the good Lord” as she liked to say, was born in New York Sloane Hospital on December 26, 1928 to Comodry Emmory and Ruth Hinton Darthard. Brother Niles was born later, but was afflicted with spina bifida, which shortened his life. Although he did not live a long life, Joan often spoke fondly of her “baby brother Niles”. Now the only child, Joan was “a daddy’s girl”, speaking highly and affectionately of him. Dr. Darthard, one of the few African American medical doctors in New York City, was also one of the first medical doctors to also be a holistic doctor, and a nurse. Her mother Ruth Darthard was also a registered nurse at Harlem Hospital. Dr. Darthard’ s practice was in Harlem; yet he had the distinction of also being popular with Chinatown clients. Tragically, Dr. Darthard developed an unknown illness which he unsuccessfully self-experimented for a cure, eventually succumbing to the illness. Joan graduated from Manhattan’s Washington Irving High School. She did not attend college but obtained work at 125th Street’s Blumstein’s Department store to assist her mother financially. Joan continued to work until 1946 when she married Gerald John Cogen, a steamfitter at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Joan and Gerald were a loving couple, having two children, Diane Zita born in 1951 and Michael John in 1956. Joan and Gerald were upwardly mobile, dreaming of one day owning a home, often taking Diane and Michael house hunting on weekends. Gerald was a New York City building inspector and a licensed plumber. He began his own construction company and trained young African American plumbers for entry into the plumber’s union. When Diane and Michael were older Joan attended night school then landed a job at Chase Manhattan Bank. Being determined and diligent she rose to become supervisor of the check encoding department, which was responsible for clearing every check that was deposited at Chase Bank, a position she held until retiring in 1994. Gerald’s rigorous work ethic took its toll and after suffering two heart attacks he passed away too soon in 1974. Joan immersed herself in work to move to a 3-bedroom apartment at the Dunbar Apartments so both Diane and Michael would have their own rooms for their studies. Joan supported Diane’s education through Notre Dame High School, Seton Hall University and NYU while supporting Michael’s education at Power Memorial Academy and City College School of Architecture and Environmental Science, where after graduation he became a highly regarded architect in New York City. Unfortunately, her mother Ruth aka “Nana” became ill and Joan cared for her until her death in 1975. With the children grown and now a widow Joan began to travel. Joan was a devout Catholic and one of her best trips was a visit to Rome, Italy, and the Vatican. Always mindful of others, when Joan returned from her Vatican trip, she gave “Holy Water” to all her friends and family. Joan was a faithful member at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Harlem. She enjoyed attending mass and was known for the one being “dressed to the nines” with matching hat, bag, shoes, gloves and during wintertime a long mink coat. Joan was a committed member of the Altar Rosary Society also known as the Rosarians. The Rosarians commit to pray the rosary every day and raise funds to beautify the church altar giving glory to God. Joan had several hobbies; one being synchronized swimming as she was one of the “Senior Synchronized Swim Club” members of Riverbank State Park in Harlem and was even featured on Channel 5 news. She loved drawing and painting, so she attended classes at Riverbank State Park having one of her many paintings displayed in the complex. Joan a tech guru built, repaired, and upgraded her own computers. She even built a few computers for her son Michael’s architectural practice. After a few years of being a widow Joan eventually found love again with Rosario Intravia, who doted on and loved Joan until he passed away from cancer. He increased her love of travel and together they enjoyed visiting Italy, Spain, Germany, and the Caribbean. Knowing Joan was a jewelry aficionado, Rosario showered her with unique international jewelry pieces. Joan’s three grandchildren were the joy of her life and affectionally referred to her as “Nana”. All of them fathered by Michael are Maia, age 33; Imani, age 31 and Michael Jr., age 29. Joan taught all to swim and enjoyed watching classic movies and playing educational board games with them. Michael married JoLinda Ruth in 1996 and with that marriage Joan’s family grew by nine: JoLinda’s mother Edith Ruth and JoLinda’s aunt, the late Venia Ruth Davis, fellow Harlemites of the same age; JoLinda’s younger brother, Emerson DeWitt Ruth, his wife Janice and children Danielle, Chris, Whitney, Asha and Madison. One summer she sponsored a trip to California for the East Coast children and grandchildren to visit and bond with the West Coast children and grandchildren, a trip which brings warm and funny memories to this day. Joan realized her memory challenges in 2007 so she began to study and make “notes to self” to improve her memory. When she understood she needed help she confided in Michael and JoLinda. Her long-time physician, Dr. Marjorie Levitan, officially diagnosed her with Alzheimer’s and worked with the family to devise a plan for Joan’s best support and “stay at home” quality of life. Michael and JoLinda are faithful members of Brooklyn’s Christian Cultural Center and often would bring Joan along on the “church bus.” While traveling on the bus the Lord lead JoLinda to have a life-changing conversation with another church member, Susan Abdul-Malik Dunn. Susan, a geriatric nurse, and her daughter Aisha Dunn offered to help with Joan’s care. Both Susan and Aisha not only took care of Joan but began to love her as a mother. When Joan could no longer live alone, she moved in with Michael, JoLinda and MaxPup, the German Shepherd who became her companion, and Susan and Aisha increased their care regimen. When Susan suffered a leg injury, Joan wanted to stay with Susan “to take care of her”. The huge family of Susan and Aisha came to love Joan, adopted her, and called her “Ma”. Psalm 68:6 says, “a father of the fatherless and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation. God settles the lonely in families.” Joan an only child now became a member not only of her own family, but a larger family, which she always said that she missed. Joan’s quality of life was enhanced with this enlarged and diverse family. Susan’s family included “Ma” wherever they went which included parks, beaches, barbecues, museums and road trips to North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Virginia. Even as Joan’s condition slowly declined, Joan enjoyed a quality of life and variety of experiences that she would have missed if she had been placed in a nursing home. On the morning of September 19, 2020, Joan met her “good Lord and Savior, Jesus” after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia for over a decade. In addition to her children, grandchildren and great-grandsons Riley Lewis and Tristan Taylor, Joan leaves numerous loved ones who will cherish her memory, most notably her daughter-in-law JoLinda, and long-term caregiver and friend Susan. Her cousins Merle Darthard, Cheoo Williams, Kenneth Brewster, Vaunetta Darthard, Kristen Darthard, Barron; Kenya Darthard, June Chisolm, Austin Moore , Ashley, Alessia and Loretta Chisolm, Millie and Melissa Cogen, and the Lont and Rosina families who are cousins in Curacao; nephew Gerald and nieces Virginia, Aaron, Shannon, Gail and Colette Cogen. Susan Abdul Malik-Dunn’s adopted family daughters Aisha Dunn, Tatiana Baker, Gloria Pernell, and son Yusrullah Malik-Dunn. Joan also leaves close Rosarian friend Doris Wooten, and longtime adoptive family members Brian McFall, Rodney Saunders, Ron Bish and Alfredo Fredericks along with other friends, family and colleagues. Memorial donations in honor of Joan may be made to The Parish of St. Charles Borromeo, Resurrection and All Saints at 282 West 151st Street, New York, New York 212-281-2100 email secretary at scbrchurch.org Online giving go to the website; https://scbrchurch.org/giving Make a one-time donation to “Special” choose an amount or enter an amount then in the “comment section” please write to specify “In memory of Joan D. Cogen to the Altar Rosary Society”