Walter Everett Cosgriff (July 4, 1914 – September 1961) was an American banker. He served as the chairman of the

Continental Bank and Trust Company The Continental Bank and Trust Company of New York was a financial institution based in New York City, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 as the German-American Bank, which became the Continental Bank of New York. Originally in t ...

and later president of the Bank of Las Vegas. He was the majority shareholder of the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

, a minority league baseball team in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

Early life

Walter E. Cosgriff was born on July 4, 1914, in

. His father, James E. Cosgriff, was a native of

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, who moved to

Rawlins, Wyoming Rawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County. It was named for Union General John Aaron Rawlins, who camped in the locality in 1867. Demograph ...

, in 1890 to raise 100,000 sheep. He later started a bank in Rawlins, and acquired the Commercial National Bank of Salt Lake City in 1905. When it merged with the National Bank of the Republic in 1920, it became known as the Continental Bank and Trust Company, of whose Cosgriff was the president until January 1938 and chairman until his death in September 1938. The J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School in Salt Lake City was named in his honor. His mother was Mildred Dobson.

Business career

Cosgriff followed in his father's footsteps as a banker. Shortly after his father's death in October 1938, he was appointed as a board member and first vice president of the First National Bank of

. He later served as the chairman of the Bank and Trust Company. By 1954, he owned banks in "Salt Lake City,

Richfield Richfield may refer to: Places Canada *Richfield, Edmonton, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Richfield, Nova Scotia *Richfield, British Columbia, a ghost town from the Cariboo Gold Rush United States * Richfield, California *Richfield, Idaho * Richfiel ...

and

Bountiful, Utah Bountiful is a city in Davis County, Utah. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 45,762, an eight percent increase over the 2010 figure of 42,552. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and ...

;

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

, Meeker and

Rifle, Colorado Rifle is a home-rule municipality in, and the most populous community of, Garfield County, Colorado, United States. Its population was 10,437 at the 2020 census. Rifle is a regional center of the cattle-ranching industry located along Inters ...

;

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

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New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized First Nation in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, Ea ...

, Wilder,

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls is the List of cities in Idaho, fourth most populous city in Idaho and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County. It is the state's most populous city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United St ...

, Marsing, Homedale and

Bruneau, Idaho Bruneau is a Census-designated place in Owyhee County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. The mouth of the Bruneau River is to the northwest and Bruneau Sand Dunes State Park is to the east. As of 2014, Bruneau has a populatio ...

; Beverly, Kansas; Las Vegas, Nevada;

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, and

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". It had US$200 million of assets under management. Cosgriff subsequently served as the president of the Bank of Las Vegas, while

Nate Mack Nathan Mack (1891–1965) was a Polish-born American banker. He was the co-founder of the Bank of Nevada and Temple Beth Sholom. Early life Nathan Mack was born to a Jewish family on January 27, 1891, in Mielec, Poland. He had two brothers, Har ...

served as its chairman. Cosgriff was appointed to the board of directors of the

Reconstruction Finance Corporation The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government that served as a lender of last resort to US banks and businesses. Established in ...

by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1950. He served on the board from October 1950 to May 4, 1951. However, he resigned because of a disagreement with the

Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to corporate charter, charter, bank regulation ...

, Preston Delano. Additionally, Cosgriff was the majority shareholder of the

, a minority league baseball team in

Philanthropy

Cosgriff served on the board of regents of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

. He also served on the board of trustees of the Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City. Additionally, he served as the vice president of the western section of the

Young Presidents' Organization YPO (formerly Young Presidents' Organization) is a US-based organization of chief executives with more than 36,000 members in more than 142 countries. History YPO was founded in 1950 in Rochester, New York, by manufacturer Ray Hickok, who was ...

Personal life

Cosgriff married Lula Enid Barr on June 7, 1937, in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had a son, Anthony, and two daughters Lyn (who married Harold Isbell), and Trix (who married Rainer Dahl). Barr was a philanthropist in Salt Lake City, where she co-founded

Ballet West Ballet West is an American ballet company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1963 as the Utah Civic Ballet by Willam F. Christensen, the company's first artistic director, and Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. ...

and supported Catholic charities; Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

made her a Lady of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre may refer to: * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), chivalric order belonging to the Holy See (the Roman Catholic Church) * Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Orthodox), chivalric ...

. Meanwhile, Cosgriff competed in golf championships. Like his wife, Cosgriff was a Roman Catholic. He was a member of the

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

, the Alta Club, the University Club of Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake Country Club, the Fort Douglas Golf Club and the Ambassador Athletic Club.

Death and legacy

Cosgriff died in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

in Nevada in September 1961. His funeral was held at the

Cathedral of the Madeleine The Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was completed in 1909 and is the cathedral, or mother church, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City. It is the only cathedral in the U.S. under the p ...

in Salt Lake City. Shortly after his death,

E. Parry Thomas Edward Parry Thomas (June 29, 1921 – August 26, 2016) was an American banker who helped finance the development of the casino industry of Las Vegas, Nevada. Along with his business partner, Jerome D. Mack, he is credited with building Las Vegas ...

succeeded Cosgriff as the president of the Bank of Las Vegas. Cosgriff's widow died in 1997. The Walter E. Cosgriff Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund for Ballet at the

was endowed in his donor in 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosgriff, Walter E. 1914 births 1961 deaths Businesspeople from Salt Lake City American bank presidents Road incident deaths in Nevada University of Utah people 20th-century American businesspeople