Services Scheduled for Irwin Cohen

Services will be held Wednesday for Buffalo Grove resident Irwin Cohen, a contender in the 1972 Olympics who went on to coach other Olympians and train suburban judo players at clubs in Buffalo Grove.

He most recently ran Cohen’s Elite Training Center in Mundelein with his brother, Steve.

The 60-year-old lost a long battle with amyloidosis on Monday, according to the Daily Herald.

Irwin was a judo training coach in the 1992 Olympics, assistant coach of the men’s World Team in 1993 and assistant coach of the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, according to a story on the U.S. Judo website. 

"It’s a very, very deep loss for anyone whose life he touched, and he touched so many lives," said Buffalo Grove resident Lisa Stone, whose sons trained with Cohen for several years. "He was a legend in his own time."

Stone, who organized a blood drive on Cohen's behalf after he became ill in the late 1990s, said the coach remained dedicated to his students over the years.

"I don’t remember a day that he really missed, unless he was in the hospital," Stone said. "Nothing stopped Irwin."

A service will be held at noon Aug. 29 at . Interment will be at Shalom Memorial Park in Arlington Heights. Memorial contributions can be made to Elite Training Center, 108 Terrace Dr., Mundelein, IL 60060.