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Morley Mitchell Cohen, CM CQ, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (1917–2001), was a Canadian entrepreneur, community builder, philanthropist, and Member of the Order of Canada. He served with the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1940–1945.

Background

Cohen came from a poor immigrant family of eight, the son of Alexander and Rose (Diamond) Cohen. His five brothers, John, Albert D. Cohen, Harry B. Cohen, Samuel N. Cohen, and Joseph H. Cohen, set up a small retail store and, by 1939, the family had created General Distributors Ltd., a wholesale import firm. In the early fifties, the company obtained exclusive Canadian rights for Paper Mate pens. The brothers scattered across Canada in order to manage the national business, with Morley in Montreal. The brothers participated in various joint ventures and/or owned several minority interests in oil & gas exploration, development, and distribution.

Philanthropy

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Cohen was considered to be one of the major community builders/philanthropists in Montreal.

Several of his notable accomplishments include:

• Former Director of the Montreal Board of Trade (1973–1975)
• Former Chairman, Capital Fund Drive, YMHA (1980)
• Former Chairman, Arthritis Society (1980)
• Former Director of Canadian Unity Council (1983)
• Former Director of Montreal General Hospital (1988)
• Former Chairman, Capital Campaign, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (1989)

Morley and Rita Cohen Foundation

Founded in 1990, the Morley and Rita Cohen Foundation was created for support and services within the charitable sector, hospitals, and universities/colleges.

Awards

• Honorary Doctorate, Philosophy, University of Haifa (1985)
• National Order of Quebec (1995)
• Order of Canada (2000)

Sources

• The Acquisitors, the Canadian Establishment, by Peter C. Newman, 1981, McClelland and Stewart (Toronto, Ont).
• The Entrepreneurs, the Story of Gendis, by Albert D. Cohen, 1985, McClelland and Stewart (Toronto, Ont). McClelland and Stewart. 1985. ISBN 9780771021862. OL 2658612M.
• "Morley Cohen Honored at Friends of Haifa Dinner, 1985, The Montreal Gazette".
• Lumley, Elizabeth (2003). Canadian Who's Who, 2003. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802088659.

References

1. "Morley and Rita Cohen Foundation".
2. "Canadian Friends of Haifa University". Archived from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
3. "Ordre national du Québec".
4. "Governor General of Canada – Archives".

• Anglophone Quebec people
• Businesspeople from Montreal
• Businesspeople from Winnipeg
• Canadian Jews
• Canadian philanthropists
• Members of the Order of Canada
• Knights of the National Order of Quebec
• Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II
• 1917 births
• 2001 deaths
• 20th-century Canadian philanthropists