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Leo A. Cohen, Deli Manufacturing Executive
- H. Leo A. Cohen, Deli Manufacturing Executive1912 - 1981
- W. Marjorie McCarl (add)
m. 29 Feb 1968
Facts and Events
About Leo Cohen
Leo Cohen was born 28 May 1912 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, the son of Isaac Cohen and Eva Schulman. By 1920, his family had moved to Los Angeles, California. [1920 Census] He attended University High School in West Los Angeles and was a three year letterman in basketball and captain of the team. He was also Vice President of the Men's Glee Club in 1931 [University High School Chieftan Yearbook 1931]
After graduation from high school, Leo worked in his father's grocery store for four years, which provided his formative education in the food industry. He felt he needed some college education afterwards and completed two years at Santa Monica Junior College, where he also was a two year letterman in basketball, his favorite sport. In 1938, he went to work for three years at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as a salesman and met the love of his life, Mildred "Millie" Waggonner. They were married shortly thereafter.
During World War II, Leo was running his father's grocery store in the daytime and working in the defense plants at night. The family also owned a delicatessen next to the grocery store in which Leo's brother Sam was a partner, and Leo and Sam opened a second delicatessen in Los Angeles on Ninth and Broadway, which they later sold after the war. Leo took a year off work to go to New York and study the delicatessen business, and afterwards opened another delicatessen in Los Angeles on Fifth and Hill St. in 1946. This delicatessen was a partnership with Julie Bell, who Leo later went into partnership again when they founded Leo's Quality Foods, a packaged and bulk meat supplier that was to revolutionize the packaged meat industry when they introduced Leo's Chipped [thin-sliced] Meats in a "gas-flushed" package. This new package allowed them to put much more shelf life on their product which proved to be much more beneficial to the retailers that only had a week or so to sell other comparable products. With the over-whelming success and acceptance by its retail customers to the new packaging, the increase in sales helped Leo's Quality Foods to become a national organization competing with the giant meat packing companies in the mid-west and east coast. Leo Cohen retired as President of the company in October 1974.
After a year of retirement, Leo decided to re-enter the work force and went into business with his friend Sam Ratner, who operated JRZ Corporation, a surplus product wholesale company. He did this for the remaining years of his working career.
During his food industry career, Leo was very active in the Dairy/Deli/Bakery Council of Southern California (DDBC), or "Deli Council", a local food-industry trade association, was elected to its Board of Directors, served as the First Vice President in 1964 and was elected as its fifth President in 1965. He attended many of the organization's functions and served as his company's "goodwill ambassador" in promoting their products. Leo was awarded the Deli Council's "Big Cheese" Award in July 1964 for his contributions to the Council.
Leo and his first wife Millie had two daughters, Susan and Ileen. After the death of his wife Millie, Leo re-married to his second wife Marjorie "Marge", who along with his daughters, survived him when he passed away after a long bout with cancer, in June 1981 at age 69.
Image Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index: Death Master File, database. (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service).
Name: Leo Cohen
SSN: 554-10-5273
Last Residence: 90210 Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA
BORN: 28 May 1912
Died: Jun 1981
State (Year) SSN issued: California (Before 1951)
- California. Department of Public Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Death Index, 1940-1997.
Name: Leo Cohen
Social Security #: 554105273
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 28 May 1912
Birth Place: Ohio
Death Date: 26 Jun 1981
Death Place: Los Angeles
Mother's Maiden Name: Schulman
- United States. 1930 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T626).
1930 U.S. Census Population Schedule
Name: Leo Cohen
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1913
Birthplace: Ohio
Race: White
Home in 1930: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Marital Status: Single
Relation to Head of House: Son
Father's Name: I Cohen
Father's Birthplace: Russia
Mother's name: Eva Cohen
Mother's Birthplace: Russia
Household Members: Name Age
I Cohen 48
Eva Cohen 46
Rose Cohen 20
Leo Cohen 17
- United States. 1940 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (National Archives Microfilm Publication T627).
1940 U.S. Census Population Schedule
Name: Leo Cohen
Respondent: Yes
Age: 27
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1913
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birthplace: Ohio
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Home in 1940: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
Street: Paloma Street
House Number: 52
Farm: No
Inferred Residence in 1935: Los Angeles, California
Residence in 1935: Los Angeles, California
Resident on farm in 1935: No
Sheet Number: 21A
Number of Household in Order of Visitation: 754
Occupation: Owner Manager/Grocery
House Owned or Rented: Rented
Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: 26
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: College, 2nd year
Hours Worked Week Prior to Census: 100
Class of Worker: Working on own account
Weeks Worked in 1939: 52
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: Yes
Household Members: Name Age
Leo Cohen 27
Milared Cohen 23 [s/b Mildred] - Occupation: Clerk/Grocery
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