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In memory of
Sandford "Sandy" R. Cohen
July 13, 1942 - March 3, 2020
Jul 13, 1942 - Mar 3, 2020
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Sandford's obituary
A graduate of Buchtel High School and the Ohio State University, Sandy ventured to The University of Sheffield, England to pursue a PhD in experimental psychology. Sandy lived in England for many years before settling in New York, and later Columbus, Ohio, where he worked with the Battle Memorial Institute and did pioneering work on the then-nascent field of computer visualization of music via a proprietary technology called Bindu, which he invented.
In the mid-1970s, Sandy returned to Akron to work alongside his brother Bob at their father George’s Akron family business Portage Broom & Brush. While there, he inadvertently contributed to the success of legendary Akron-based rock band DEVO by loaning them Portage Broom & Brush hazmat suits, which became part of the group’s signature look. Sandy also helped financially back DEVO’s first single.
From there, he moved to Berkeley, California, where he was a lecturer in computer science at both the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco State University. Most rewarding for Sandy was producing visualizations of music and teaching the visualization of music as a subject for artists, musicians and computer scientists, which combined what he learned and observed of how humans perceive, process and integrate sounds and visuals.
In the early 1990s, he and longtime partner and eventual wife Edee Howland moved to Deer Isle. There, Sandy pursued numerous creative projects including photography, writing, assisting at the headquarters of Wooden Boat magazine, and baking artisan crackers under the clever pseudonym of Sandolini. Sandy was also a contributor to Maine’s PBS creative writers group. A collection of his art and videos can be found here.
A lifelong digital artist—decades before such a term existed—Sandy loved showing others how computers could enable self-expression in all art forms. He was a major influence on his Akron-born nephews Jonathan and Brian, as well his Canton-born cousins Greg and Faith Cohen. His wisdom and encouragement helped them discover their innate creativity, be it introducing them to the writings of scientist Stephen Hawking or the music of pianist Keith Jarrett. Brother Bob labeled Sandy as “the most creative soul ever known to his family, friends and colleagues.”
Sandy took frequent biking and hiking trips with his brothers Marvin and Bob to appreciate the raw natural beauty of Alaska, Nova Scotia, Maine, and Florida. A sweet and brilliant man, Sandy was absorbed in creative ideas until his last moments. Politically astute, he was casting his vote in the Maine presidential primary the minute before his life ended.
Sandy was preceded in death by his parents George and Thelma Cohen and brother Marvin, all of Akron. Sandy is survived by wife Edee Howland (Maine), brother Bob (Florida), sister-in-law Lynn (Akron) & relatives throughout the United States.
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Created with love by
Bronco Bob (Sandford's brother).
