RICHFIELD SPRINGS – William “Will” Harvey Cohea III, of Richfield Springs, passed from this life into eternal life Friday morning, April 4, 2025, at his home surrounded by family. He was 69.
Born on May 30, 1955, to Rev. William “Bill” H. Cohea, Jr. and Mary Wimberly Cohea in Pittsburgh, PA, Will followed his father and the rest of the growing family as it moved to New Jersey and then Chicago’s northern suburbs. He attended elementary and middle school in Evanston. Will was an active, athletic kid, and he loved playing with trains and slot cars, backyard sports with neighborhood kids, fishing and listening to rock ‘n’ roll on WLS-AM on his portable transistor radio.
When the family moved to Winter Haven, FL, in 1971, Will took to the outdoors, working extra jobs to earn enough to buy a boat for fishing expeditions on nearby lakes, accompanied usually by his dog Shep. (The boat was named The Dee Dee Boo, after the dog’s nickname.) He began high school at Winter Haven High where he made the JV football team and was quite the tanned and buff young man at the many pool parties held out back of the house.
The family moved back north in 1973, taking residence in a row house near Fullerton Seminary in uptown Chicago. He graduated the next year from Lakeview Academy in Chicago. Out of high school, Will took photography classes and worked in the restaurant business before relocating to Pennsylvania in 1990, taking residence at Columcille with his father Bill. There he studied massage therapy and assisted with many projects at the flourishing megalithic park, creating paths into the woods, carrying and raising stones for the construction of the St. Oran Bell Tower, keeping the grounds and taking photos at events.
He met his future wife, Sarah Totin when she rented one of the apartments at Columcille and the two married in 1996.
Subsequently they lived in nearby Bangor in a house which Will completely renovated, including an office and treatment room for his massage business, a stone wall across the front and a lavish recreation area with Koi pond in back. There, Will also developed a photography business and did many shoots for local events, businesses and individuals.
When Bill Cohea passed in 2018, Will was on hand for his memorial in the St. Columba Chapel, which Will helped build in 1979 and where he and Sarah had exchanged wedding vows in 1996.
As part of their retirement plan, Will and Sarah moved to upstate New York in 2020, purchasing a Victorian house in Richfield Springs. There Will continued to hone his skills as a craftsman working on many projects renovating their 130-year old house. Will often took the dogs for a walk in a nearby hayfield, and many of his later photographs meditated on the play of light and shadow in that serene expanse.
Will’s cancer journey began in 2022 with a three-year battle using both traditional and alternative therapies. To the end, Will maintained a productive and happy life with Sarah.
A recent DNA test by a relative led to Will making a late-in-life connection with his son Paul Helsdon of Chicago, and the two spent a happy weekend together telling life stories and searching for common traits between them.
Will is survived by wife Sarah Totin Cohea, their dog Memphis, his son Paul Helsdon and brother J. David Cohea and sister Molly (Cohea) Tims, both of Florida. Will is predeceased by father Bill, mother Mary and brother Timm.
A service To the Glory of God and in Thanksgiving for the life of William H. Cohea III, will be offered at 3 p.m. Saturday, May, 17, 2025, at The First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown, 67 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, with the Rev. Jessica D. Lambert, Pastor officiating. Immediately following the service there will be a time for refreshment and fellowship in The Chapel.
On June 8, 2025, Will’s cremated remains will be interred in The St. Columba Chapel located in The Columcille Megalith Park in Bangor, PA.
Memorial donations may be directed to The Deacon’s Fund at The First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown, 25 Church Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326, or Columcille Megalith Park, 2155 Fox Gap Road, Bangor, PA 18013.
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers at (607) 547-8822, or A Rose is a Rose at (607) 264-3100.
