Phil Cohan, 66-year Club member, longtime USIA officer, 92

Philip C. Cohan, a 66-year member of the National Press Club, died peacefully at his home Sept. 12, three days before his 93rd birthday.

Cohan worked for the Voice of America from 1961 to 1963 and then joined the U.S. Information Agency in 1963, retiring in 1983. His overseas postings included Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1965-67), Ibadan, Nigeria (1969-71), Accra, Ghana (1971-72), Athens, Greece (1975-78) and Jakarta, Indonesia (1978-81).

He was accompanied at each of his international stations by his wife, Harriet, who died in 2018.

"My dad was an exceptional person, and his strong belief in the importance of a free press was one of the ideals he was attached to right up until his death," his daughter, Gail Cohan, wrote in an email.

Although he worked overseas, the Club was an important part of Cohan's life.

"When he was in Washington, there was always a sojourn to the Press Club with reflections on its importance," Gail Cohan said. "The whole family (my dad, mother, sister and I) all traveled from our respective states to attend the dinner celebration in which he was initiated as a Golden Owl. He kept a picture of that night above his desk until the very end."

Cohan's children often accompanied him to the Club.

"My sister and I both have wonderful memories of the annual father-daughter dinner at the NPC when we were young," Gail Cohan said. "I think that the Shirley Temple drinks were even better than the magic show. When I was in high school, a high point for me was my father getting tickets at the Club for a presentation by Margaret Mead, one of my heroes at the time."

After retirement, Phil and Harriet lived initially in Florida, and then settled in New York. They thrived on visits with friends and family, and on outings to the theater and museums. In 2017, they moved to Long Island to an assisted living community close to their youngest daughter. Phil is buried with Harriet, in Florida.

He is survived by his daughters, Kathryn McNulty (James McNulty) and Gail Cohan (Nancy Goldstein), grandchildren Lindsay Belisle (fiancé Peter Simoes) and Joshua Belisle and great-granddaughter Olivia Belisle.