Island artist Marshall Nelson Cohan died on Thursday, April 21. He was 84.

Marshall was born in Wellesley on Nov. 14, 1926. He attended the Newton Country Day School, graduated from Noble and Greenough in 1944, graduated from Harvard University in 1948 and also served in the Merchant Marines during the end of World War II.

As a young adult Marshall worked with his father on Martha’s Vineyard where they settled in Katama on Great Plains Farm (now Herring Creek Farm). Marshall built the first privately-owned swimming pool on the Island which remains his family’s favorite spot. His early years on the Vineyard sparked a lifelong love of the Island which he passed down to his family.

On Jan. 7, 1956 Marshall married his beloved wife, Judith J Cohan; they lived in Concord and eventually settled in Uxbridge. Their love of art, music and family deeply enhanced their 55 years of marriage. They spent their golden years summering at their home on the Vineyard and enjoyed the warm winter months in Wellington, Fla.

After college Marshall worked with his father in the wool business buying and selling wool in their company Cohan and Co. Tops, Boston. In the early 1970s he founded and for two decades was the president of Skane Knit, Inc. in Uxbridge, producing sweaters and hats for ski resorts, Nantucket Looms and the US Olympic ski team. He served on many boards including the Wool Associates of New York, the Uxbridge Planning Board, the Trustees of Uxbridge Savings Bank, Mass Financial Services in Boston, and MacArthur State Park in Florida.

After retiring Marshall reclaimed his artistic passion, taught himself to weld and with Alexander Calder as his inspiration began sculpting with metal. His playful and enigmatic works are on display at the Granary Gallery and Featherstone on Martha’s Vineyard as well as in the personal collections of family and friends.

In addition to his wife, Marshall is survived by his daughters, Martha W. Cohan of Edgartown and Amy E. Cohan and son in law Austin K. Smith of Portland, Me.; six loving grandchildren, Emily H Cohan, Michael (Spike) Cohan Lavigne, Marshall Cohan Davidson, Norwood Nelson Cohan-Smith, Jackson Kilgore Cohan-Smith and Perry Alice Cohan-Smith; his sisters, Janet Aldeborgh of Edgartown and Barbara Edgehill of Santa Barbara, Ca.; numerous nieces and nephews; and many dear friends, particularly Walter E Robb of Chilmark and Sherborn, who together with wife, Anne, were devoted friends to Marshall and Judy. Marshall was predeceased by his parents, Benjamin and Hildgarde Cohan, and his sister, Dorothy Cohan Hughes.

A private memorial service will be held in celebration of Marshall’s life at his home on the Island. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society or Featherstone Center for the Arts, 30 Featherstone Road, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.