Cosby was born May 3, 1918 in Boissevain, Virginia. As the eldest of 10 children, she was a leader and a caregiver at an early age. She was the first female from her valley to graduate from high school. She was a graduate of the nursing program at Charleston General Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia. Cosby joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1941 and achieved the rank of Captain during WWII. She was in England during the Normandy invasion and helped to treat soldiers injured during the assault. Cosby met the late Burton T. Watson in 1943 at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. They married and moved to Saginaw at the end of WWII.

 
Cosby was ambitious, a hard worker, and lived a life in service to others before self. She was a devoted mother and grandmother, but she also had time to serve her community as a VA Hospital Volunteer and a lifetime member of the Saginaw General Hospital Auxiliary. She was always the “go to” person whenever anyone was injured or ill and she maintained her Registered Nurse license into her 80th year.

 
To honor Cosby, her family and friend established this scholarship to support area pre-nursing students with a passion for serving and caring for others.