David Cochran

David Emmett Cochran was born September 14, 1948 to David and Hester (Solomon) Cochran in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended and graduated high school in Columbia, Mississippi. In 1968, he took his experience as an airplane mechanic and enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he served as an Aircraft Maintenance Specialist. In Vietnam he was a crew chief who handled preventive maintenance of airplanes used for medical evacuation. He ended his Air Force career in 1985 with an honorable discharge. David moved to Huntington, Indiana where he worked for Breyers Ice Cream. In 2001, David moved to Tyler, Minnesota. He was employed at Schwan Food Company continuing his work with ice cream in Marshall, Minnesota, retiring in 2013 due to health issues. He had been married to Elizabeth May, a union blessed with two children, Michell and Tonie, to Shirley Elsten, and to Debbie Deason. Deb died in 2011. David died of natural causes at his Tyler home on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at the age of 67.

David was a member of Marshall Legion Post #113 where he was a past Commander and enjoyed time spent with fellow Legionnaires. He also enjoyed fishing, camping, and traveling, including to Europe where he visited places he had been stationed. He was a jack of all trades and once owned his own roofing and carpentry business – “Quality Exteriors”.

David is lovingly remembered by his two children, Michell (James) Griffith and their sons, Cameron and Parker, and Tonie Cochran, all of Blythewood, South Carolina; two step-daughters, Sarah Scott and her daughters, Samantha and Charlotte of Missouri, and Cynthia (Jason) Harter and their children, Arabelle, Lucille, Michael, and William of Pipestone, Minnesota; a sister, Janet (Philllip) Cascio of Mississippi; sister-in-law Betty Cochran of Mississippi ; nephew James “Jimmy” Cochran; nieces Melissa Bracey and Wendy Barnes; his beloved Jack Russell “Sophie”; and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, James Cochran; and his wife, Deb. Blessed be his memory.