Longtime educator sees school with his name before he dies

Jace Radke

Monday, May 6, 2002 | 8:54 a.m.

As he talked Saturday about the new elementary school that bears his name, longtime Clark County educator Steve Cozine smiled.

"We were able to tour the school on Friday, and he was really very excited to be able to see the school and his name up on the side," his wife, Linda Cozine, said. "It was something he really wanted to do, and he was talking all about it on Saturday."

Steve Cozine, who spent 32 years as a teacher in Las Vegas, died Sunday at the age of 57 after a seven-year battle with cancer.

Steve Cozine Elementary School is set to open in August at 5335 Coleman St., near Craig Road and Simmons Street in North Las Vegas. It will have to be around for more than three decades to match the education career of its namesake.

Cozine moved to Las Vegas in 1966 with his wife, also a teacher, and began what they thought would be a short stay in Las Vegas.

"We flipped a coin," Linda Cozine said. "We were either going to stay and teach in Springfield, Ill., or move to Las Vegas. We were only planning on staying a couple of years."

Instead, Cozine put in 15 years at Lincoln Elementary School in North Las Vegas, then taught at Fyfe Elementary and Gibson Middle schools.

In the early 1990s Cozine served as president of the Clark County Classroom Teachers Association and later as a vice president of the State Retirement Board.

Born Jan. 24, 1945, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Cozine graduated from Illinois State University.

One of the highlights of Cozine's career came in 1989 when he was selected to represent Nevada's teachers at President George Bush's inauguration.

Cozine's hobbies included history and coin collecting -- he was the president of the local numismatic society.

"He loved Nevada and its history," Linda Cozine said. "He loved to learn about the gold mines and ghost towns. He'd read something about a mine or ghost town, and we'd be off on an excursion to some out-of-the-way place."

Cozine was also a member of the Retired Teachers Association and the Nevada State Education Association.

"He was a dedicated partner, teacher and father, and he loved his children and grandchildren," Linda Cozine said.

Cozine is survived by his wife, daughter, Kari Cozine-Butchko, son Dr. Christopher Scott Cozine, all of Las Vegas; father Carl Cozine; and two grandchildren.

Visitation is scheduled from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Palm Mortuary, 1325 N. Main St. Services will be held Wednesday at Palm Valley View Cemetery at 3 p.m., and at University Methodist Church, 4412 S. Maryland Parkway, at 4:30 p.m.

The family asks that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.com