Larry Cosby

Larry Cosby, 49, of Grants Pass, died on April 17, 2006, while at work on the Snail Back Trail near the Wild and Scenic Illinois River on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.

Larry’s death is a great loss to his family and friends, the Forest Service, and the community. Many of the trails people love and hike on today in local National Forest lands were developed by Larry.

Larry was born on January 9, 1957 at the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California. He was one of three children of Laurel Austelle and Evelyn Rose Cosby. He graduated from Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, California in 1975, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Planning and Management from the University of California at Davis in 1981. He later studied for a Master’s Degree at San Francisco University.

He is survived by his wife, Linda Mullens, who he married on October 20, 1990, and their two sons Zac, 15, and Josh, 9. Linda and Larry met in 1975 at a community college and their 30 year relationship was full of love and adventures. Larry is survived by brothers Dennis of Las Vegas, NV and Mike of Roseville, CA, and many other loving family and friends.

Larry began his career as a public servant in 1978 working for the Army Corps of Engineers in California, and later for the Tahoe National Forest. In 1979, he went to work as an interpreter for a season with the National Park Service at the Statue of Liberty National Monument. That was followed by his first permanent federal position with the National Park Service as an interpreter at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Johnson City, Texas. While there, he was a volunteer EMT. By that time he was tired of being so far from Linda, so he began finding jobs closer to SW Oregon. From Texas, he transferred to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco, where he served as a Park Ranger from 1983 to 1987; while there he was a member of the Vertical Rescue Team. In 1987, he moved to Southwest Oregon and worked for two years as a Park Ranger at Oregon Caves National Monument, 20 miles east of Cave Junction.

In 1989, he began working for the Siskiyou National Forest in Cave Junction, Oregon. He worked 18 years on the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Just two months ago, he received a promotion to the position of Supervisory Recreation Specialist on the Applegate, Ashland, Galice, and Illinois Valley Ranger Districts.

He died while working on a project that held his passion for over 15 years. He played a key role in developing The Precious River strategy for the Illinois River, which is currently being used to guide the development of recreation facilities along this nationally known wild and scenic river.

He was instrumental in the construction of many recreation sites across the Forest and in particular the reconstruction of the Sam Brown Campground, Big Pine Interpretive Trail, Limpy Botanical Trail, and the Waters Creek Trail on the Galice Ranger District. Some of his other noteworthy accomplishments include making improvements to the Page Mountain Snow Park, Horse Creek Trail, Bear Camp Ridge Trail, and Spalding Pond Campground. He put a lot of energy and dedication into development of the Sam Brown Campground and Horse Camp.

While on special detail assignments to the Chugach National Forest in Alaska during the 2002 and 2004 field seasons, Larry played a major role in the design and reconstruction of the Lower Winner Creek Trail, which is part of the Iditarod National Historic Trail System.

Larry was active and involved with volunteers and many community organizations. He went out of his way to work with youth from the Job Council and the Northwest Youth Corps. He worked with many Boy Scouts on their Eagle Scout projects. Larry also worked with the Applegate Partnership on the Applegator newspaper, assisting with layout and design for over ten years. He is well known in the community for his dedication and big heart. His humor was one of his greatest attributes.
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