Charles Walter Cochran

Funeral services celebrating the life of Charles Walter Cochran, 72, of Rayville, will be held at 10:00 AM Thursday, July 25, 2019, at the Rayville United Methodist Church with Rev. John Albright, Rev. Bill McLain and Rev. Daryl Tate officiating. Interment will be 2:30 PM, Thursday, at Atkins Family Cemetery in Athens, Louisiana under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home in Rayville.

Walter was born September 22, 1946, in Monroe, Louisiana. A graduate of Rayville High School, he entered Northeast Louisiana State College in fall of 1964. Upon graduation in 1968, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the US Army. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service and honorably discharged as a 1st Lt in November 1970. He returned home to Rayville with his young family to join his parents in business at Cochran Tractor & Imp. Co., Inc.

Walter served the Rayville Presbyterian Church as a Deacon and Elder, later becoming a member of the Rayville United Methodist Church, serving several years as Chairman of the Church Council and member of the Board of Trustees. He worked actively in the Methodist Men's organization and Bar B Q. He was elected to the Richland Parish School Board in 1972 at the young age of 26.

In 1974, he was elected as an Alderman for the Town of Rayville. While serving as Alderman, he initiated a plan to improve garbage collection resulting in the wheeled individual containers in use today. Walter devoted himself to making the joint cooperative effort of the School Board and Town of Rayville come together, resulting in the building and construction of the Rayville Civic Center.

In 1972 he was elected to represent Louisiana at the Democratic National Convention in Miami as an Alternate Delegate. He remained an elected member of the Louisiana State Democratic Center Committee from District 19. When his friend Jerry Huckaby was elected to the US Congress, Walter took a leave from his business to serve as a Congressional District representative, and while in that capacity he assisted many people with issues involving the Social Security Administration and the Veterans Administration. He met with police juries, municipalities, levee boards and many other governing bodies to liaison issues with the federal government.

Walter rejoined the family business in 1980, and in June 2000, he was elected by the board of directors of the Richland Voluntary Council on Aging to serve as Executive Director. Under his leadership, many improvements in service to the elderly were made and grants were pursued and obtained to supplement funding. His service was particularly gratifying because it gave him the opportunity to give back to those who had helped shape his life in Richland Parish. He retired in 2007. He enjoyed hunting and fishing with friends and attending local high school sporting events and ULM football and baseball games. He especially enjoyed quality time with family and grandchildren, organizing and planning family reunions and especially reunions with his beloved RHS Class of '64 classmates.

Charles Walter Cochran died July 22, 2019, at Christus Highland Medical Center in Shreveport surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Susan Clark Cochran; daughters, Christine Renee Dearman and husband Clyde, and Mary Ellen Cochran; son, Jesse Alvin Cochran and wife Laurie; grandchildren, Kelsey Dearman Beautrous and husband Britton, Madison Taylor Dearman, Hunter Brown, Frances Brown, and Luke Brown; brother, James Cooper Cochran; sisters, Lillian Chenoweth and husband Steve, Jenny Lou Bird and husband Frank; numerous nieces and nephews, and honorary son Sherman Ashley and wife Georgia.

He is preceded in death by his parents Horace and Evelyn Griffis Cochran.

Pallbearers will be John Mulhern, Trae Banks, Bill Worsley, Nathan Morris, Mitch Brown, Tim Hoychick, Clay McConnell, and Trent Livingston.

Honorary pallbearers will be Pete Mulhern, Larry Lockeby, Charles R. Chaney, Doyle Hammons, Charles Germany, Mike Robinson, and Wayne Lord. Various cousins and nephews will serve as pallbearers at the graveside service in Athens, Louisiana.

Memorials may be made to Rayville United Methodist Church or The American Heart Association.

Online Registry/Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com
Mulhearn Funeral Home
Rayville, LA