Mildred Ash Kohn
October 10, 1921 - July 26, 2017
Mildred Kohn practiced psychiatry in Berkeley, California from 1953 until her retirement in 1980. She was born to Polish Jewish immigrant parents in Des Moines Iowa. When she was 8 the family moved to Fort Dodge Iowa where her father ran a store. She was the middle of three siblings. Her brother Manny was 8 years her senior, her brother Sol two years younger and a close playmate in childhood and friend throughout life. Her orthodox parents had no expectation that their children might attend college, particularly their daughter. But Millie took courses at a community college after high school and attended nursing school for a year. Eventually she saw the opportunity to become a doctor and entered medical school (rare for a woman at that time) at the University of Illinois, Chicago shortly before the end of WWII graduating in 1948. She then completed an internship at Kaiser hospital in Oakland and a residency in psychiatry at the Veterans' Administration Hospital in Menlo Park, CA.
Millie met and married Gustave (Bob) Kohn, a research chemist with the Ortho Division of the Chevron Corporation in 1950. They remained happily married for 56 years until Bob's death in 2006. Millie and Bob raised a family in Berkeley California where Millie had her practice. In 1980, after Bob retired from Chevron, he took a job in Palo Alto and Mildred closed her Berkeley practice to join him. There she served on the Voluntary Clinical Faculty of Stanford University before fully retiring a few years later. Bob and Millie both lived their later years at Palo Alto Commons assisted living facility.
Millie used the name Dr. Mildred Ash for her professional practice which was focused on helping people, particularly women, reach the potential she saw in them. Both through her practice, and in her social life, she helped many women reach greater personal and professional fulfillment, as she herself had done through her education and practice.
Millie is survived by daughter Ann Kohn and grandson Gabriel Rivera and son Joshua Kohn, his wife Heather Henter, and their two daughters Cora and Ruby Kohn. Millie's eldest son Michael died in an accident at age 15. Before her death, Millie greatly appreciated the well-wishes of the many extended family members and friends who were able to bid her farewell and share with her their fond memories.
Family requests no flowers be sent.
Funeral services will be held Friday, July 28, at 1:00 PM, Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, 1301 El Camino Real, Colma, CA 94014.