Obituary: Cossey, Bill
A son, an athlete, husband, soldier, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Bill was never far from family and friends.
Whether on his horse, tractor, or 4- wheeler, family and friends were enjoying his stories or his words of advice.
Bill graduated from the University of Idaho in 1957 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.
He was sent to Germany as a company commander of a guided missile site.
In 1965, Major Cossey was sent to Vietnam to be in charge of finding small groups of insurgents and directing air strikes.
Vietnam honored him with a Silver Star and the United States Army awarded him the Bronze Star.
After returning home, Bill returned to college and became a teacher and a coach.
He was a science and math teacher at Deer Park Junior High for over 25 years as well as coached boys and girls basketball and football.
His dream was to own a ranch, raise horses and cattle.
Hilltop Ranch became a reality in 1966 and he and Roberta raised their four children there.
Through farm life he gave all of the children a work ethic, a sense of family and community.
Two of the children still reside on the farm.
Bill is survived by his wife of 59 years Roberta and four children; Karen Capp and her children, Logan, Adam, and Laura; Kevin, his wife Rita, their children, Sheldon and Brittney, her husband Robert Lee and daughter Makenna; Anne-Marie, her husband Mark Holmes, and their children, Ryan and Micah.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Bill’s honor, to Alzheimer’s Spokane Chapter, 910 W. 5th Ave., Spokane, WA 99204 or Horizon Hospice of Spokane.
Memorial services will be held at Zion Lutheran Church in Deer Park, September 28 at 1:30 with Pastor Duane Anderson officiating with a gathering of family and friends following.