Sherry Banks-Cohn

Sherry Gaye Banks-Cohn, 89, of Bloomfield, died peacefully on May 12, 2026, surrounded by family. Born in Hartford, the daughter of Goodman Banks and Cecelia (née Yessner) Banks, Sherry spent most of her life in West Hartford and Bloomfield, CT. A graduate of Oxford School, she attended Sarah Lawrence College, married, and returned to West Hartford. Believing in the importance of giving back to her community, she advocated fiercely for the causes she believed in. She served for decades on the Board of Kingswood-Oxford School, both as a trustee and Chair. For this work, in 2001, she received the national Seymour Preston Award, given yearly to one independent school trustee for dedication and service to their school. A life-long patron of the arts, Sherry established The Goodman Banks Visiting Artist Series at Kingswood-Oxford School in 1974, which enables students to work with practitioners in the visual and performing arts. She also served on the boards of The Bushnell, Hartford Stage, and Goodspeed Opera House, to name a few. In the early 1990s, she was appointed by Governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. as Chair of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. Sherry loved life and, always generous, made sure that those around her were taken care of and had fun. She especially enjoyed traveling with her beloved husband, Bud, to distant destinations and Stowe, VT; playing bridge with “her girls”; and attending theater and dance performances. Nothing was more important to Sherry than her relationships with her friends and family. She was invested in the details of their lives and developed close bonds with all of them. Holidays at Grandma Sherry’s overflowed with good food and laughter, the table set to perfection. She adored her grandchildren and loved her regular getaways with them at Stowe, VT and elsewhere. Sherry is survived by her daughter, Wendy Eve Steiner and her husband, Steven Schwartz, of New York, NY; her son, Bradford Evan Steiner and his wife, Karin Raye, of Charleston, SC; her stepson Frederic Cohn and his husband, Robert Bowe, of New York, NY; her stepson William Cohn and his wife, Susan Dahl, of Northfield, VT; her stepson Jonathan Cohn and his wife, Lynda Cohn, of Farmington, CT; and her grandchildren Maxwell Cohn (Brittany Veres-Cohn), Charlotte Cohn, Emma Schwartz (Alexander Kronman), Benjamin Cohn, Eric Schwartz (Kendall Lloyd), Julia Cohn (Eric O’Brien), Zachary Raye Steiner, and Samuel Raye Steiner. She was predeceased by her husband, Robert Emery Cohn, and her sister, Marilyn (née Banks) Hamilton. A service celebrating Sherry’s life will be held on Sunday, May 31 at 11 a.m. at the Roberts Center Theatre at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, CT. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Sherry Banks-Cohn to a charity of the donor’s choice.