Author and historian Cosby passes away
Apr. 21—Don Cosby was a businessman by vocation, but a story teller by avocation. The former Daviess County Historian passed away Thursday following a long illness, leaving behind a gaping hole in the community.
"He was a friend to every person that ever worked at the museum. He was also the go- to person for any information that you would want about the county. Don brought years and years of knowledge about the community. I never heard a negative thing said about Don Cosby," said Daviess County Museum Director Becky Kremp. "He held court down at the White Steamer. He was very active in his church. Don is a great loss. He knew about everyone. There is no replacing him."
Don Spillman remembers Cosby from one of his earliest jobs, working at the Palmer Electric Store.
"He was a businessman. When I was a kid, he worked at Palmer Electric and on the second floor they had the record shop. Don managed that part of the shop," said Spillman. "He was really a nice guy. He was a fantastic individual. It was great to have him in the community as a person with character. Community history was a personal passion for him."
Cosby eventually worked in insurance and even served as the Washington Township assessor but it was his love of the tales of Washington and Daviess County that led him to write three books: "Revisiting the Past," "Legends, Legacy and Folklore," and "My Scrapbook."
In one of his books, he wrote," I readily admit in my nearly 88 years I cannot boast of being a world traveler, nor did any of my ancestors, for in an old article and obituary of my great-grandfather states that he had lived his entire life in Daviess County, only six miles south of Washington, but had not traveled to Washington in the past twenty years. Furthermore our family had settled in Daviess County in 1811, a span of 208 years.
This is a claim I often refer to with pride as they also were truly "Pioneers, Patriots, Pillars" of the community, in which a section of this book is devoted. Someone needed to preserve their story, otherwise, even though relatively unimportant, in the grand scheme of life, I feel an obligation to record what little I know. That's the least I can do!"
"He had not only a huge knowledge of local history but also local folklore. He was a real asset to the museum. He wrote three books and many, many columns. He brought in all of his files to the museum. His range of knowledge went beyond the hard-core facts, it included the stories that went with them. Don was an invaluable asset to this county and in particular to the town of Washington," said Kremp. "I can't think of one thing about local history that I ever asked him about that he did not have an answer. He is irreplaceable."
"His books about his memories of Washington and the historical facts were read by a lot of people, and I think he helped generate some interest in the local community," said Spillman. "With him, we have lost that basic knowledge. He knew a lot of things that a lot of people didn't. His death is the loss of that knowledge about our county and especially the city of Washington."
The Daviess County Museum recently completed a renovation and special reopening. Kremp says that because of his health, Cosby was unable to participate in those activities and she called his passing at this time "bittersweet" for the people at the museum.
"Until about a year ago he would come in almost every day. He had a desk upstairs in the research room that is still there. His failing health would not allow him to come in. He had his file cabinet full of information. He had an index ready to use," she said. "He meant everything to this museum. You cannot replace him as a county historian."
"The community will miss him. He had a lot of knowledge about people and places. He was like the living memory of the area," said Spillman.
For information on Cosby's services, turn to page A3.
