This summer at the Celebrate Gloucester concert at I4C2 the place was filled with smiling faces and dancing feet.
At around 9PM it was really jumping down there and most of the VIP seating had been cleared away to make way for people to get down and shake their groove thing.
Out of the very diverse crowd that night there was a couple that stood out from the mass of people right up front from my vantage point on stage.
This couple were in their 60’s and had been married a long while but the way they embraced each other and the way they beamed when looking into each other’s eyes they looked like they were honeymooners. That couple was none other than Kate Seidman and Mitch Cohen.
When the night was winding down we walked up the hill together from I4C2 up Hancock Street past Topside Grill and the new construction on the left hand side of the street. I asked Mitch and Kate, “What’s the secret?” “How do you stay so in love after all these years?” They had it. They had it in a way you rarely see at that level at that age.
It was extraordinary and striking to me. This was no act. This was pure and true love.
Many of you know Kate and Mitch and all they have contributed to our community. The beauty and kindness and compassion.
Mitch’s sudden passing comes as an incredible blow to everyone he knows. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the conversations I’ve had with Mitch and Kate this summer where they both,together or one on one have been so happy and in good places.
So to Kate- In your time of grieving for the loss of such a wonderful man you must know how much you are loved by the community, by your family, by all the people you touch every day with your positive spirit. You had a good many years IN LOVE. IN TRUE LOVE. Some Many people will never know the type of true love that you had with Mitch.
In your grieving if there is any comfort you can take from this know that even though Mitch’s body is gone that you had what most people may never even know all the way through til the very end and that is TRUE LOVE and no one can ever take away that gift, those memories. You will always be loved by your many friends, family and community Kate because you are special and as we have talkled about all so many times you are a connector and a person that makes beautiful things happen through your facilitating of positive energy and connecting people. It is through all those loving compassionate connections that you have made that hopefully you can find strenth and comfort.
Love you Kate.
Everyone loves you.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Thank you Joey for such a beautiful piece. They were and always be a loving couple. My prayers are with you Kate and your family.
Donna
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Amen.
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That’s a lovely story, Joe. I was dumbfounded when I heard about Mitch, such a tragic loss. God bless, Kate. I can’t imagine what she must be going through.
Some years back she and Mitch were sitting behind us at a Greg Brown concert at the me and thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead and they were so much fun. We had a great time talking with them and I keep thinking about that. My deepest sympathies to Kate during this dark time for her.
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Joey, this is so lovely, and I so completely agree with you. Mitch and Kate together were an inspiring couple, and separately such incredible, creative, warm, nurturing (of friends, family, and even strangers) people. Mitch will be sorely missed. Kate, we love you!
-Amanda
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When my boyfriend and I were considering merging our lives and kids together 5 years ago, we all went to Mitch for some family counseling. We had more fun and laughs during those sessions, Mitch clearly enjoying himself as much as the rest of us…those are wonderful memories that we will always treasure.
I cried when I heard he had died. Mitch was a lovely man and I’m very grateful that we had the chance to know him.
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We are stunned to learn of Mitch’s passing, having just returned from a 4-day trip. Yes, Mitch and Kate’s love enriched us all. Kate, our hearts are with you. Amy Shapiro- and Ed Kaznocha
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Kate, our prayers are with you now.
Thank you for being such an avid part of this community.
Mitch will be greatly missed!
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If a nod can convey trust and a soft touch, love and a good listening ear a compassionate understanding, we are a truly a poorer people today for Mitch’s passing.
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