Description:
Richard J. Cobin was born on October 20, 1946, in Newark, New Jersey, to Ruth and David Cobin. His father's family had roots in Russia. His mother's family came from Austria and Hungary and had settled in Newark, New Jersey, well before Richard was born. Growing up in the Weequahic section of Newark, Richard enjoyed a close-knit Jewish community. In 1956, his family moved to Linden, New Jersey, where his parents ran a diner that his maternal grandparents previously owned.
Richard's father passed away just before he entered high school. His mother managed the diner with Richard's help, especially as his older brother, Jack, got further into his education at Rutgers College of Pharmacy. Despite the challenges, Richard graduated from Linden High School in 1964. After graduation, he worked full-time at his mother's diner while taking part-time classes at Newark State Teachers College in Union, NJ.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966. He took basic training at Fort Carson, Colorado. During basic training, he was selected to interview for Officer Candidate School. He received advanced infantry training at Fort Ord, California. He started training as an artillery officer--a forward observer--at Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in the Fall of 1966.
After seven months of training, Richard earned his commission and was assigned back to the OCS as a TAC officer. He was then transferred to the Artillery Transport Department at the United States Army Field Artillery School on October 2, 1967. He became a trainer in artillery and taught enlisted men about artillery operations. During his service, he met his future wife, Beverley, in Dallas, Texas. They married shortly before his discharge in 1969.
After he was released from active duty, Richard returned to New Jersey with Beverley. He started working for Western Union and returned to Newark State Teacher's College to become a math teacher. However, once he realized that he did not want to become a teacher, he transferred to University College at Rutgers-New Brunswick, a night program for part-time students, around 1972. He also was in the New Jersey Reserves during this time. He received his BS in 1977.
After working for eighteen years in telecommunication sales for Western Union, Richard moved to work in corporate communications for Telenet. He then joined Equitable as an insurance salesman. In his last fourteen years of working, Richard worked at Prudential as an inside support broker/customer service person for their mutual fund investment division.
Richard has maintained much community involvement. He was a trustee for his synagogue from 1990 to 2008. He is an active volunteer at a food pantry in Freehold, NJ, which his synagogue supports. He takes classes at Monmouth Country Community College. He is a trustee of the Field Artillery Association at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and actively attends Artillery School reunions. He is a cannoneer as part of the Rutgers football cannon crew.
The Rutgers Oral History Archives received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. In the 2024-2025 cycle, this grant assisted the ROHA staff in making this oral history available to you for your use.