COCHRAN, John Richard "Dick" 1910-2004

COCHRAN, GABBERT, FROYD, KEMP

Posted By: Debbie Nash (email)
Date: 5/4/2004 at 23:20:50

"The Fairfield Ledger"
Thursday, April 29, 2004

John Richard "Dick" COCHRAN

John Richard "Dick" COCHRAN, 93, of Fairfield died at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday, April 27, 2004, at Jefferson County Hospital.

The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Jan Burns-Hintze officiating. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery.

Friends may call at their convenience through the day Thursday and Friday at Raymond Funeral Home. The family will greet friends from 6:30-8 p.m. Friday.

Mr. COCHRAN was born July 24, 1910, in Fairfield, the son of John H. and Hazel GABBERT COCHRAN. He married Elenore FROYD July 19, 1932, in St. Joseph, Mo. She died in 1996.

Mr. COCHRAN graduated from Fairfield High School in 1928. While in high school, he was the first FHS athlete to win all-State football honors, and as a senior, he was named to the Des Moines Register's All Iowa High School Football Team for 1927. He also was named to the first All-Little Six Conference team.

He enrolled at University of Iowa, where he took some engineering courses, played football and received a minor letter during his sophomore year. He received a scholarship and transferred to Parsons College in 1931. He played football for three years at Parsons. In 1933, he was named to the All-Iowa Conference Football team as guard. While attending college, he also worked at the Fairfield Gamble store.

Mr. COCHRAN graduated from Parsons with a bachelor's degree in science in 1934. Following graduation, he was a high school teacher and coach at Coin for three years, then a science teacher and coaching assistant at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs.

After taking summer classes, Mr. COCHRAN completed a master's degree in education at the University of Iowa in 1939. While in Council Bluffs, he also renewed his engineering studies at Omaha University.

In addition to his teaching duties, Mr. COCHRAN also served as an engineer for Howard Manufacturing, a Council Bluffs company that ground crystals used in military communication equipment during World War II.

In 1945, he joined Maytag's research and development department at Newton. As project engineer, he headed a six-member team which developed the first Maytag automatic washer.

Starting in 1963, he spent two years in Minneapolis, Minn., with Franklin Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Studebaker Corp., which produced Gibson appliances. In 1965, he was named vice president of Speed Queen in Ripon, Wis., a position he held until his retirement in 1975.

He and his wife retired to his great-grandfather's Century Farm northeast of Fairfield; the farm has been in the COCHRAN family for 127 years

During his engineering career, Mr. COCHRAN obtained one patent pertaining to the development of the automatic washing machine; he also had a part in other related patents.

Mr. COCHRAN was a longtime member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was active in SCORE as a small business mentor and a Rotary member.

He has been a member of the Fairfield Golf & Country Club.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church.

Survivors include four daughters, Christine KEMP of Iowa City and Jo, Judy and Sarah of Evanston, Ill.; one son, John COCHRAN of Akron, Ohio; 13 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife; parents; and brother Robert COCHRAN.

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*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

Note: Buried in Lot 4th.070 with wife Elenore.