Cochran, Charles M. 1911-2004

COCHRAN, ERICKSON, HILDEBRAND, FRITZ, PITTAM, SMYTH, RODIBAUGH

Posted By: Debbie Nash (email)
Date: 12/17/2004 at 14:08:05

Charles M. Cochran
December 14, 2004

Charles Merle Cochran, 93, of Hedrick died Monday, Dec. 13, 2004, at Jefferson County Hospital.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Fremont Funeral Chapel in Fremont. Burial will follow at McCormick Cemetery near Highland Center, with military honors by Hedrick American Legion.

Visitation will be from 10-11 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral chapel, prior to the funeral.

Memorials can be made to Hedrick Veterans of Foreign Wars, Hedrick American Legion or Jefferson County Hospital.

Mr. Cochran was born Jan. 15, 1911, in the Canada province of Saskatchewan, the son of Clarence and Lavina Erickson Cochran. He married Blanche Hildebrand Feb. 14, 1942, in Kahoka, Mo.

He was reared in the Fairfield and Libertyville areas. After attending Libertyville schools, he was employed on a cattle farm near Fairfield. He served from 1942-1945 in the United States Army during World War II in the 947th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater of Operations and participated in liberation of the Philippines.

After returning to Fairfield, he farmed with Belgian horses until purchasing a tractor in 1959. He bought a farm near Farson, where he lived until his retirement in 1989 to Hedrick.

He enjoyed raising Belgian draft horses.

He was a member of Hedrick Lions Club, and lifetime member of American Legion and VFW. A member of Belgian Draft Horse and Mule Association, he was inducted into the Horseman's Hall of Fame at the Iowa State Fair.

Mr. Cochran was a member of Pleasant Grove Methodist Church.

Survivors include his wife; one son, Steven Cochran and wife Rita of Davenport; one daughter, Arlys Fritz and husband Stephen of Burlington; three grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one brother, Glenn Cochran of Echo, Ore.; and one sister, Doris Pittam of Roseburg, Ore.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother, Wray Cochran; and three sisters, Eileen Smyth, Marian Rodibaugh and Marjorie Rodibaugh.

Courtesy of the Fairfield Daily Ledger Inc. 2004