To Alisa and family our deepest condolences from the Bruce and Anna Wood family. We’re thankful that Joanna was able to be at the funeral to represent our family and were so disappointed we couldn't make it. We are very grateful in the knowledge of our Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness for all his children. We will dearly miss our friend Greg and even though I have not seen him in a couple of years after moving from VA the thought he was always there was comforting. Greg always seemed more comfortable in the background, yet he always exuded a quiet sense of confidence. When I would speak with Greg I always marveled at how this quiet man could be so knowledgeable, and so articulate not only in our personal conversations, but in lessons he would lead, quorum conversations, talks that he would give, or in his many interactions as a member of the bishopric. I can remember many acts of service Greg gave on others behalf. He and Jo were always there to help someone move. I remember one act very specifically. I had been in the Reston hospital for sometime and was very sick and came close to death. As I was recuperating, the doctor wanted me to get up and take walks around the hallways of the hospital. I remember at least two specific times when Greg and Jo came to the hospital sneaking in big giant candy bars and getting me up out of bed and walk with me around those halls in the hospital to make sure that I got my walks in. He was always the one that volunteered when something needed to be done. I’ll never forget my experiences with Greg and I love him dearly and will miss him until we meet again.
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Born in Lovell, Wyoming
May 19th, 1954
Gregory “Pop” Cozzens, AKA “Popalopagus”, was called home on January 1st, 2023 at the age of 68. He unexpectedly passed away in his ski shack in Provo, Utah from natural causes.
Greg was born on May 19th, 1954, in Lovell, Wyoming, to Carrie Verniece Moncur and Ralph Dee Cozzens. His brother Dee Cozzens (deceased) and sister Sharon Roth were delighted to welcome him to the family. In his youth, Greg enjoyed playing in the dirt with his trucks and cars, riding dirt bikes, driving his truck in the hills, playing his saxophone, and participating in the high school performing choir and theater group. Word on the street is that he started out as a bit of “an ornery cuss”, but he had a perfectly round head.
Attending Northeastern Wyoming Community College on a music scholarship, Greg played the saxophone and sang. He also studied business at the U of U, NYU, and BYU where he met, fell in love, and began a life with Alisa Nelson, of Warrenton, South Africa. Greg’s career and passions first took his family to New York City, where three of his children were born, and where he and Alisa managed a thriving diamond-cutting and wholesale business. Greg also worked in San Francisco--where his 4th and final child was born--as a stockbroker and small business owner, and in Virginia as a software sales engineer.
Greg served an LDS mission in South Texas. He continued to serve the Lord throughout his life in various ward and stake callings, as a temple worker in the Washington DC temple, and as a faithful husband and father.
In addition to his family and the Gospel, Greg’s passions included traveling, skiing, camping, fly-fishing, sailing, aviation, technology, weather watching, porch sitting, driving tractors, and sharing these passions with his posterity, all while making them laugh. His family suspects that Greg was single-handedly responsible for keeping John Deere, Patagonia, Apple, Levi’s, GMC, and Pepsi in business for the last 30 years, as an entertainingly dedicated customer and advocate of these brands. He spent his last weeks happily sailing the British Virgin Islands, skiing in Utah, and visiting all 20 of his grandchildren spread throughout the country.
Greg is survived by his older sister Sharon, his wife Alisa, his children Christi Romney, Joseph Cozzens, Cory Cozzens, and Lauren Mallett, their spouses, and their children. All who knew Pop would describe him as understated, sweet, subtly humurous about everything, unconditionally loving and generous, and the world’s biggest teddy bear. Memories of Greg will continue to bring love and laughter to his family for generations to come.
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