Hot Springs, VA – The man whose efforts to bring skiing south of the Mason-Dixon Line earned him the moniker “Father of Southern Skiing,” Joseph H. “Sepp” Kober, passed away Tuesday in a Virginia hospital. He was 88.nAn Austrian native, Kober first came to the U.S. to teach skiing at Stowe, Vt., but quickly headed south where he was responsible for the development of ski areas across Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky from the 1950s into the 1970s.

Kober taught skiing at Weiss Knob in Tucker, W.Va., and at Wisp Resort in McHenry, Md., before serving as ski director at The Homestead in Virginia for nearly four decades. Kober proved that it was possible to ski in the south, co-founding and serving as president of the Southeastern Ski Areas Association for multiple terms where he used his resources to promote the development of skiing throughout the region with the help of snowmaking. He also founded the Southeastern Ski Representatives Association and was its president for six years. Kober was inducted into the U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2009.

Kober is survived by his wife, Marion, as well as two children, one sister, two grandchildren and one nephew.

Kober’s life will be celebrated in a ceremony at The Homstead Resort Aug. 27 following burial services in Hot Springs.