INTERCONNECTIONS

I’m posting this blog on the 5th day of the 5th month…my late father-in-law’s favorite number was FIVE because he was the 5th child (of 14), born on the 5th day of the 5th month. On Election Day, November 4, 2025, at the local Short Hills Mall, I ran into his cousin Leon’s daughter, Ellen, who graduated from high school with me in 1971.

The first question that Ellen asked that day was if I knew where her cousin Julie was living. I told her that Julie’s home is in California and she is working at Washington University in St. Louis. “Julie Neidich, MD, is an associate professor of pathology and immunology, with a secondary appointment in pediatrics. She is the medical director of the Cytogenomics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory in the Division of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine.”

By the way, I didn’t memorize that information; I just looked her up online. You can too; there’s more in her impressive bio. Julie took the position at Wash U. around the time of our son’s engagement, and she was able to join us at the bridal shower in St. Louis before his November 2017 wedding.

Excitedly, Ellen reported that her cousin Bobby, from the other side of her family, married into the Raskas family from St. Louis. I was sure my daughter-in-law’s family would know them since they’re from St. Louis. I texted my daughter-in-law’s father, Mitch, and, of course, the families know the Raskas family.

Speaking of Mitch, I told Ellen the story about Mitch having been my cousin Bonnie’s boss in Cleveland. He knew my 1st cousin Bonnie years before I even met her. See So Close Yet So Far, dated September 16, 2025, at sharonmarkcohen.com.

Back to Ellen, her cousin Bobby Hellman, an anesthesiologist, is the son of her mother’s sister Mollie, and Ellen and Bobby grew up together in a two-family house in Elizabeth, New Jersey, just as Arnee and his cousins did, where they practically lived around the corner.

Ellen mentioned that, now that she’s retired, and knowing her father’s side of the family tree was done by me, she wants to work on her mother’s side of the family tree. She said that she better speak with her cousin Alan, who is “with it” in his 90s, before something happens. Then, she mentioned that his sister died recently. I said, “Harriet?” She gasped, “You really know everyone.”

Ellen’s mother’s cousin, Shirley Wolfson, known by her family as “Chick,” was my mother-in-law’s best friend from childhood. We were often in her company and would hear about her family members. See Two Peas in a Pod, dated March 2, 2021, at sharonmarkcohen.com.

Before we parted that day, I suggested Ellen read my blog posts. I gave her the website address at sharonmarkcohen.com. For sure, she’ll want to read the blog posts about her and Julie’s grandmother, our “grandmother for the day” at our 1975 wedding. See When Is The Last Time You Looked Through Pictures From Your Wedding Album? dated December 20, 2022, at sharonmarkcohen.com.

That day at the mall, Ellen and I stood and talked and talked for over 45 minutes. It was almost as if we had just graduated from high school, even though that was in 1971.

Ellen recounted how she distinctly remembers me stopping her in a stairwell at Battin High School in Elizabeth and telling her that I was dating her cousin Arnee. When we met at the mall, I, in turn, didn’t think to tell her my distinct memory.

Way back when, friends and I were walking from Battin down South Broad Street to Broad Street in downtown Elizabeth after school when Ellen was also walking with friends and carrying a load of books. We were by the old St. Elizabeth Hospital, now Trinitas Medical Center, when Ellen asked me if Arnee was taking me to prom. I replied that we weren’t going because Arnee had no interest. She said, “You should go.” Funny the things you remember.

As for another interconnection or two, when I took the comprehensive exams for my master’s degree in Public Administration at NYU, I was convinced it was all good when I saw that my number on the anonymous exam paper was 5! And, I’ll always know my friend Maureen’s birthday because it’s that famous 5th day of the 5th month. I know you’ll be reading this Maur, so happy birthday, my trusted friend.

My high school yearbook photo - Sharon Mark (Cohen)