Obituary of Gideon Cahen

Gideon Cahen, 81, of Greenwich, passed peacefully into our memories on Friday, September 7, 2012 following complications from pneumonia and open heart surgery. Born July 8, 1931 in Geldrop, The Netherlands, he was the firstborn son of Julius and Frederika (DeJong) Cahen. Gideon spent his childhood in the Netherlands and is a survivor of the Holocaust of World War II. In 1947---after the war ended---at age 16, Gideon and his family moved to Palestine (present day Haifa, Israel), where he completed high school and spent several years in the Israeli Army, earning a rank of Lieutenant in the Artillery. In 1954, he came to the United States to attend the Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colorado where he studied engineering. He also studied engineering at the University of Delft in Holland. In 1960, Gideon returned and eventually emigrated to the U.S. and began a career in civil engineering, working on roads and bridges in the tri-state area, including the Long Island Expressway. In 1964 he was working on building the Adirondack Northway, 1-87, when he met his future wife, Elaine, in Albany. The couple married in 1965. Gideon also worked as a civil engineer in Philadelphia, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Albany, including serving as the project engineer for the Albany interchange from the Dunn Memorial Bridge to the South Mall. The Cahens moved to Greenwich in December, 1974. In 1979, Gideon started his own construction management firm, G. Cahen and Associates, for which he worked until his retirement. Gideon had been an active member of the Lions Club in Greenwich, of which he is a past President. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Mary McClellan Hospital. His interests included antique cars, reading, electronics, and his beloved dogs. Throughout his life, he easily conversed in three languages: Dutch, Hebrew, and English. He will be remembered for his warmth and ease with people and his sense of humor. Gideon will be laid to rest and funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at Flynn Brothers Funeral Home at 80 Main Street, Greenwich. There will be calling hours from 5 until 7 p.m. on Monday, September 10. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Lions Club of Greenwich or to a charity of one’s choice in his honor. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Elaine McCasland Cahen of Greenwich; his children: son Adam, of Greenwich; daughter Alison Cahen Lohr and son-in-law Frederick Lohr of Baltimore, Maryland; and son Barak of Amstelveen, The Netherlands; and grandchildren, Lucie and Oscar Lohr, also of Baltimore; his other survivors are sister, Ruth Manassen of Rehovot, Israel; brother, Abel Cahen, of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and sister, Judith Cahen-Crouwel, also of Amsterdam; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins in both Israel and the Netherlands.