Ruth Anne Lee Cohen was born in Savannah, Georgia, in the 1930s. She grew up with her parents, grandmother, and three younger siblings and by age five she was working in her grandmother’s confectionary as a cashier. Ms. Cohen’s parents and siblings moved to Detroit, Michigan, when she was in the seventh grade leaving her to live with her grandmother. Ms. Cohen attended a segregated Catholic school until seventh grade, at which point she enrolled at Alfred A. Beach High School where she met her husband. After finishing high school, Ms. Cohen attended Savannah State College (now Savannah State University) where she studied elementary education and graduated in 1958. After teaching in Savannah for three years, she moved north to join her husband in Washington. After serving overseas in the military, Ms. Cohen’s husband refused to live in the South, and by the time they were married, he had already been living in Washington for a couple years. Ms. Cohen held off on joining him in D.C. until she had taught in Savannah public schools for three years, securing tenure. Once in Washington she continued teaching until her retirement in 1999. She took on other positions after retirement, such as the Business and Professional Women’s League, helping students get scholarships to college.