John M. Cohan

John (Jack) Cohan, of Santa Barbara, CA, passed away on Sunday, May 12 at The Oak Cottage, Santa Barbara. He was a retired attorney who had served with the Santa Barbara County Counsel’s Office.

Jack was born in Augusta, Maine, the son of Angus and Florence Cohan. His father was an officer in the U.S. Navy. The family moved frequently as his father’s home ports and other duty stations changed about once every three years. Jack saw much of East and West coasts of the United States.

In 1942, his father’s ship was transferred to the Pacific theater and the family moved to Santa Cruz, California (then a sleepy tuna fishing port). Jack got a part job at a horse ranch that raised and trained polo ponies. Jack fell in love with the sport and horses in general and became a very adept horseman. He bought a three-year-old thoroughbred colt from his employers and trained it to become a very good polo pony.

The family moved to Stockton, CA in 1947, where Jack graduated from high school in 1949. He attended and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. in 1955 and subsequently joined the Air Force. He retired from the Air Force and attended UC Berkeley School of Law. After obtaining his law degree and after passing the California Bar, he joined the Marin County Counsel’s Office and later moved to Santa Barbara, where he joined the Santa Barbara County Counsel’s Office.

In the late 1980’s he retired and set out to sail around the world alone on a 28- foot-long sailboat. He was very proud of this achievement. Jack returned to Santa Barbara, where he remained for the rest of his days.

Jack his survived by a younger sister, Sue Morrow, who lives in Carson City, Nevada, her twin brother, W T Cohan, who lives in Grand junction, Colorado and three nieces and one nephew.