Vol. 30, No. 3, #5. Ken Koski: a Man of Adventure - a Man of Integrity (1950 - 2006).

• Author: Author: Kristopher C. Koski

Wyoming Bar Journal

2007.

Vol. 30, No. 3, #5.

Ken Koski: a Man of Adventure - a Man of Integrity (1950 - 2006)

Issue: June, 2007 Author: Kristopher C. KoskiKen Koski: a Man of Adventure - a Man of Integrity (1950 - 2006)Unlike many of you reading this article, I never knew Ken Koski in a professional context. Fortunately for me, I was extremely lucky enough to just call him "Dad."

Ken Koski graduated from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1979. After receiving his J.D., he served as a law clerk for one year in Cody, Wyoming, before opening a private practice in Powell, Wyoming. In Powell, he operated a general practice and served as a part-time public defender.

Growing up as a young kid, all that I knew was my dad was a lawyer. I couldn't understand why he wanted to help "get criminals off." I remember having the belief that he must not be a very good lawyer, because according to television, all lawyers were rich and that did not seem to be the case with us. Sometimes, we would get an awful lot of corn-on-the-cob. Things made a little more sense in my later years when he showed me a still-in-mint-condition homemade knife that he had received as payment from a client.

Dad's office was located on the main street in Powell. I always looked forward to the days that I could go to his office after school. When I arrived, Judy Braten, his longtime secretary, would kindly greet me, my sisters and whichever friends we might have been with. If Dad was meeting with a client, she would escort us to the library. We could never wait for him to finish meeting with his clients, because that meant he would either give us a couple dollars to go up the street and spend at Kragler's or some money to spend in the office's candy box. In fact, any kid who happened to stroll into his office could not escape without Dad pulling two quarters from his drawer so he/she could pick out a piece of candy.

Dad was heavily involved in scouting while in Powell. He devoted every Monday night, most weekends and sometimes weeks for the many scouting activities he helped organize. This was great for me as a little kid. Although I was not old enough to be a scout, I was able to tag along for many hiking, backpacking, climbing, canoeing and various other trips. Initially, hiking with Dad was difficult. He never developed the concept of waiting. With my shorter legs I often ended up very far back with another leader or my mom if she went along. Mom sometimes got a little upset with Dad being gone so much on scouting and leaving her "the kids" for the weekend. That is just how he was. He wanted to and succeeded in introducing so many youth to the wonderful outdoors...