Morley Cohen

Morley Mitchell Cohen, CM PhD CQ, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (1917-2001), was a Canadian entrepreneur, community builder, philanthropist, and Member of the Order of Canada. He served with the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1940-1945. He was married to the late Rita Lillian Cohen (née Stober), and is survived by their two daughters: Joanne (Mrs. Barry Goldmeir) and Donna Susan.

Morley Cohen came from a poor immigrant family of eight, the son of Alexander and Rose (Diamond) Cohen.

Morley's five brothers, John, Albert D. Cohen, Harry B. Cohen, Samuel N. Cohen, and Joseph H. Cohen, set up a small retail store and, by 1939, the family had scraped together enough monies to create General Distributors Ltd., a wholesale import firm.

By 1950, General Distributors sales amounted to $1 million. In the early Fifties, the company obtained exclusive Canadian rights for Paper Mate pens. Then, in 1955, brother Albert D. Cohen accomplished the most amazing feat of landing the Canadian distribution rights to Sony products. Spotting an ad in a Japanese newspaper seeking a distributor for a new portable transistor radio, Albert met with Sony co-founder, Akio Morita. On the basis of a handshake deal, Albert cemented a partnership that would last for decades. The Cohen brothers scattered across Canada in order to manage the national business, each brother establishing himself in a major city: Morley (Montreal), John (Toronto), Joe (Vancouver), Harry (Calgary), and both Sam and Albert setting up headquarters (Winnipeg).

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