Obituary of Arthur Paul Cosing

Arthur P. Cosing Jr. May 11, 1926 - July 18, 2014 Arthur Paul Cosing Jr of Fairfax, VA died on Friday, July 18, 2014. He was 88 years old. Art was born to the late Arthur and Ruby Cosing, of Coral Gables, FL on May 11, 1926 in the home his father built by hand. The home was destroyed a few months later in the 1926 Miami Hurricane. The family relocated to the Washington area where Art graduated from Central High School in 1944. Upon graduation, Art enlisted in the Army and was sent to the front in the latter half of WWII. He was wounded in Germany while clearing out snipers for advancing troops. His actions earned him two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. Upon returning to the Washington area after the war, he enrolled at the University of Maryland, served as Chief Editor of the school's Old Line Magazine, and received a BA in Journalism. He married the late Shirley Baumann in 1954. They were married for forty-three years and had one child before her death. Art was a Communications Specialist at the National Institute of Health for thirty-three years, helping the government to disseminate critical health information to the public. Besides acting as a chief speech writer to Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph Califano, Art was also repeatedly recognized for his production work in television and print. His proudest achievements were a thirty second ad about hiring the "mentally restored" which aired during Super Bowl IV (one of the first such government ads to be shown during this primetime sporting event), and his work in the early education of the public on the dangers of smoking. After retiring from the federal government, Art was an active writer, having published articles in Esquire, the Washington Post, and Parade Magazine. He was also a great lover of murder mysteries and wrote many short stories that were published by Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen, Hardboiled and others. Art is survived by his only son, Paul, his daughter-in-law, and his two grandsons, of Reston, VA. A public visitation is scheduled from 6 - 7pm, and a memorial to Art will be held from 7 - 8pm, on Thursday, July 31, at the Adams-Green Funeral Home in Herndon. A private family inurnment will be held at 11am on Friday, August 1 at National Memorial Park in Falls Church.