Mrs. Leanore "Lee" Cohen
1971 1975 1980
Leanore "Lee" K. Vizer, passed in peaceful intention on Saturday, November 2, 2019, a month before her 88th birthday.
Everything Lee did or cared about, right down to the color of her socks, she invested with gusto and intensity. She was easy-laughing, colorful, multi-talented, accomplished, interested in pretty much everything, interesting in her own right, painfully honest, and never boring.
A revolutionary and pioneering teacher, Lee reformed the Paramus NJ high-school English education system to help countless difficult high school kids find new hope and better futures. Armed with a Masters in Education Communication, Lee later brought that same fresh air and innovation to her interpersonal counseling and the personal growth movements.
Proudly serving for years as Newsletter Editor and Member of The Board for the Final Exit Network, her writing and editing were masterful.
As a child of professional musicians Jean and Marty Kramer, Lee was a deeply devoted performer, singer, and lover of music including classical, Rogers and Hammerstein, The Boston Pops, and Simon and Garfunkle, among many many others. The Phantom of The Opera or The Moiseyev Orchestra could all be counted on to give her goosebumps. Moving this same in-her-DNA love of music to her feet, Lee was also an expert folk and ballroom dancer.
An avid and knowledgeable birder, Lee took delight in identifying, just off the top of her head, almost all the birds of the eastern US, simply from pictures and their songs. Never far from her sense of humor, a silly joke about Canada geese (not "Canadian geese," for gosh sakes) could leave her in spasms of laughter for 15 minutes.
For decades, Lee was a fiery and passionate advocate for people's right to die with choice, dignity, and compassion. Walking her own talk with powerful integrity, Lee made sure to die on her own terms and on her own timeline.
Her unvarying faithfulness to herself, her beliefs, and her cause were astonishing.
Lee is survived by her two deeply-adored sisters: big-sister Gerry Seltzer, and Lee's very-identical "Kramer twin" Eleanor (Ellie) Shafer, both educated women of accomplish-ment and renown in their own rights.
She leaves her children by first husband Allan Cahn (Cohen) - daughter Judy, and son Barry and his wife Yvonne - overcome with admiration and love. She was widowed and preceded in death twice, first by husband Dr. Jay Vizer and then Richard (Dick) Miller, both of whom also left children loved by Lee: Mark and Robin Vizer, and Dick's kids Deborah and Rick Jr.
Contributions may be made to Final Exit Network (FinalExitNetwork.org) in memory of former newsletter editor and board member Lee Vizer, and will be greatly appreciated by her family as the perfect way to honor her life and her death.
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/inquirer/name/leanore-vizer-obituary?id=9217086