USSA's Bill Marolt remembers Doc Sosman

The opportunities we provide to athletes are based in great part on the dedication of our USSA volunteers. No one typified that more than Dr. J. Leland Sosman (Sos), who passed away April 3 at the age of 87 at his Concord, Mass., home. Sos lived a full life, dedicating much of it to serving as a FIS and USSA volunteer, as well as being the spirit of Waterville Valley’s Black and Blue Trail Smashers (WVBBTS).   

The opportunities we provide to athletes are based in great part on the dedication of our USSA volunteers. No one typified that more than Dr. J. Leland Sosman (Sos), who passed away April 3 at the age of 87 at his Concord, Mass., home. Sos lived a full life, dedicating much of it to serving as a FIS and USSA volunteer, as well as being the spirit of Waterville Valley’s Black and Blue Trail Smashers (WVBBTS).    
    My memories of Sos stretch over four decades. He was the consummate volunteer, attending to every last detail in the projects he managed. He served for decades on USSA and FIS committees and was an official at six Olympic Winter Games and countless World Championships. He was recognized with the highest honors in our sports, receiving the USSA Blegen Award in 1976 and being inducted to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 1999.
    Sos was a graduate of Philips Andover Academy, receiving his undergraduate degree from Harvard and a medical degree from Johns Hopkins. He served as a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital until retiring in 2002.
Sos and his late wife Mary Jo (Kibler) Sosman had five children, including Eric Sosman (Newton, Mass.), Nancy Clark Sosman (Sabego, Maine), Carol Clary Sosman (Mansfield, Mass.), Amy Kibler Sosman (Portsmouth, N.H.) and the late Honorable Martha Browning Sosman. He had two grandchildren.
    A memorial service will be held Sunday, April 20 at 1:00 p.m. in Waterville Valley. Donations may also be made in his name to the Waterville Valley BBTS Educational Fund, Box 442, Waterville Valley, NH  03215.
    Cards and letters may be sent to the family through his daughter Nancy at his home address: Dr. J. Leland Sosman
c/o Nancy Sosman
648 Lowell Rd.
Concord, MA 01742
    Our athletes have had great opportunities because of the work of Doc Sosman. He will be missed by all.

    — Bill Marolt,
USSA President and CEO