NCMS Past President Kenneth E. Cosgrove, MD, died November 13, 2009 in Hendersonville, NC. He served as NCMS President from 1985 to 1986 and helped to develop health care delivery in Henderson County during his more than fifty years of serving his community. The front entrance to Pardee Hospital was named in his honor in 2003, to recognize his many contributions to the community where he and his wife, Eleanor, had lived since 1953. Mrs. Cosgrove died in 2002. He is survived by five sons, Kenneth, Timothy, Barry, Jeffrey and Christopher, their spouses, and16 grandchildren.
Dr. Cosgrove and his wife came to Hendersonville after he received his medical degree from New York University, served as a physician in the US Navy for three years, and completed training in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiology. He founded Henderson County Internists and served on the staff of Pardee Hospital, where he helped to establish one of the first intensive care units in Western NC. Active in the NCMS, he was a founder of Medical Mutual Insurance Company (MMIC) and served on its Board of Directors. He helped direct the foundation of Carolina Village, a non-profit continuing care retirement community in Hendersonville and served on the Board of Directors since 1974. He also helped organized Hospice of Henderson County, now called Four Seasons, and served as director of the Blue Ridge Medical Center.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 21, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church at Church St. and Sixth Ave. West in Hendersonville. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Four Seasons (Hospice), 571 S. Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731. Condolences may be sent to the family at http://www.jacksonfuneralservice.com/, or to P.O. Box 945, Hendersonville, NC 28793.
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Ken Cosgrove was more than just an excellent physician. He was a superb pilot and he and Elanor flew his plane to England along a similar route as Lindberg flew. Those of us who also knew Ken and his involvment in the early years of the development of Bald Head Island know of his membership in the elite group of 19 families who couldn’t wait for CP&L to bring power, nor the construction of the Marina. Ken would fly from Hendersonville and land on the 8th fairway of the golf course!