UFT Admin
- Retired Teacher
Geoffry Cohl, a devoted educator and resource coordinator at Manhattan’s City-As-School high school, took great pride in opening the world to his students, finding valuable real-world internships in a wide range of industries, from business and law to music and restaurants. He also taught global history, supplemented by impressively photographed slideshows of his trips around the world. Geoffry died on Dec. 31, 2024, at age 87, of Lewy body dementia.
Geoffry, who retired in 2005, began his 20-year teaching career later in life, first embarking on a career in finance, and then public administration before working in addiction counseling. He followed his passion to learn about the culinary arts and wine, earning an associate’s degree in restaurant and hotel management along the way.
But he had always wanted to teach, recalled his wife, Phyllis Cohl, a UFT retiree who was a teacher and later a school counselor. Whatever field Geoffry was curious about, “he did 110%,” she said, which is why he was regarded by family and colleagues as a Renaissance man.
Geoffry and his wife used their summers off over the years to visit more than 100 countries, including Nepal, Afghanistan, France, Sumatra, Bali, Egypt, the Sudan and Kenya. He was also an expert chef, wine connoisseur, photographer, scuba diver and runner.
Vincent Darvi, his chapter leader at City-As-School, said Geoffry “attended meetings and brought anything to my attention that warranted union intervention. He was always thankful for the union.”
Another colleague and resource coordinator, Andre Knights, described the slideshows Geoffry shared from his travels as “a personalized PBS ‘National Geographic’ experience. Darvi concurred, adding, “He was a good photographer and recorded a lot of beautiful and culturally informative material.”
Wendy Berry, who was also a resource coordinator at the school, said Geoffry was “a good colleague who always gave of his time if you had a question. His slideshows gave me an impetus to travel more.” She described him as having “a quiet integrity you knew you could rely on.”
Geoffry did his undergraduate work at Goddard College in Vermont, creating his own major by combining his interests in history, administration, martial arts and wine. He later earned a master’s in public administration at NYU, and an associate’s degree in hotel and restaurant management from the NYC College of Technology (now City Tech). When Geoffry decided to become an educator, following his wife as well as his mother, an early UFT member and teacher, into the field, he took additional education courses through the UFT.
Geoffry and his wife met at age 16, went their own way for a few teenage years, and then married at 20. Phyllis describes their life together as “an amazing adventure” and Geoffry’s life philosophy as that of “money is for mileage.”
In addition to his wife, Geoffry is survived by his niece, Sara Dwyer Reader, who is a doctor, and a nephew, Samuel Cohl, a retired Florida state park ranger.
Condolences can be sent to:
Phyllis Cohl
45 Christopher St.
Apartment #15B
New York, NY 10014
or shared on this UFT Honors website.
