Retired barber John Henry Cosby dies at 84

John Henry Cosby cut hair in Richmond for more than 60 years.

"Sometimes he cut the hair of three generations: father, son and grandson," said his wife of 40 years, Mary Mayo Cosby.

Mr. Cosby, a retired owner of the former Bellevue Barber Shop at 1219 Bellevue Ave., will be remembered at a funeral today, Wednesday, at 1 p.m. at Fourth Baptist Church, 2800 P St. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery.

The 84-year-old retired barber, whose shop served North Side neighborhoods including Bellevue and Ginter Park, died last Wednesday at his Richmond home.

A Richmond native, he was the eldest of nine children. Their father died when Mr. Cosby was young, and he learned the barbering trade as a teenager attending Maggie L. Walker High School.

Drafted into the Army during his senior year, he arrived in England five days after the 1944 World War II D-Day invasion. He subsequently served as a technician 5th grade and truck driver-light with the 3077th Motor Vehicle Distribution Company, often under combat fire, as it supported Allied troops pushing from France to Germany.

After the war, Mr. Cosby returned to Richmond to work at Gus Barber Shop at 609 W. Leigh St. and later at Turpin's Barber School at 1503 E. Main St., where he worked two chairs up front in the school's barber shop and helped coach students who worked chairs in the rear.

Gus Williams of Cleveland was a 15-year-old student from Roanoke attending the school in 1966. "Mr. Cosby could make a pair of scissors really sing. He would carry us to church with him, and he'd take us fishing. He gave us what we really needed. He always was giving us a spiritual word," Williams said.

In 1978, Mr. Cosby went to Bellevue Barber Shop, where he became sole owner before retiring about 2007. "He loved that barber shop so much he never took a day off," his wife said. "He was open six days a week. He loved cutting hair."

Mr. Cosby also liked to fish and often would ride his bicycle to fish at the James River before pedaling to work, his wife said.

His other love was his church, Shiloh Baptist Church, where he was a deacon for more than 60 years and had served as Sunday school superintendent. He also taught a young adult men's Sunday-school class. "Some of them, the first thing they say is, 'He has played a role model in my life,'" his wife said.

In addition to his wife, survivors include two daughters, Veronica L. Cosby and Joyce Ann Sherman; two sisters, Lillian Brown and Mary Leonard; and a brother, Joseph Cosby, all of Richmond; and one granddaughter.

Contact Ellen Robertson at (804) 649-6115 or .