Lillian May Cohen, nee Margolis, age 100, of Deerfield, formerly of Northbrook, IL and Western Mass. Beloved wife of the late Samuel. Cherished mother of Susan Cohen (Jerrold Carl) and Joseph Cohen. Devoted grandmother of Jesse, Samuel and Miriam Carl. Lillian was one of the first women to graduate from law school in Western Massachusetts. Liilian died due to a fast-moving cancer. She had celebrated her 100th birthday on November 16, 2013. Mrs. Cohen graduated with a law degree from Northeastern University, Class of 1939. The night school program she participated in was a forerunner for the Western New England School of Law in Springfield, MA. Mrs. Cohen led a life of quiet accomplishment. She worked in a law office, at the Springfield Armory during World War II, and later in life in the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. Mrs. Cohen was an excellent swimmer who taught Red Cross water safety classes and performed with a synchronized swimming group in the 1950s and 1960s. Mrs. Cohen was widowed from Samuel Cohen in 1963, and often cited her role as a mother as her greatest accomplishment. Mrs. Cohen was born in 1913 in Middle Village, Queens, New York to hard working immigrant parents Joseph Margolis and Fannie Goldstein Margolis. She moved at a young age to Willimansett, MA and later moved to Holyoke, MA. It was in Holyoke that Mrs. Cohen completed her public school education and lived much of her adult life. Mrs. Cohen was in her teens and graduated high school during the Great Depression, and became interested in the law working as a secretary for a prominent Holyoke attorney. In her later years, Mrs. Cohen wintered in Cocoa Beach, Florida and moved to Illinois to be close to her daughter and her daughter's family. Funeral services will be held Tuesday 3:30 PM at Shir Hadash Synagogue, 200 West Dundee Rd., Wheeling. Burial will be in Sons of Zion Cemetery, Chicopee, MA. Info Mitzvah Memorial Funerals, 630-MITZVAH (630-648-9824), or www.mitzvahfunerals.com