Otis Cochran

Otis F. Cochran, 92, a 56 year resident of Stamford, Texas, and a retired salesman for West Texas Utilities, died July 4, 2003 after an extended illness that ravaged his body but not his mind nor his sense of humor. At his side to the end was his loving wife, Bernice, known as ''B'' to family and countless friends. Affectionately called ''Daddy O'' by his family, he will be remembered for his uncanny sense of humor and remarkable memory as a Jr. Life Master in bridge. He loved playing cards, fishing, reading, politics, and rooting relentlessly for the Texas Rangers baseball team.. Otis Fielding Cochran was born on August 15, 1910 in Tuttle, OK, but moved as a young boy to Tahlequah, where he graduated from Northeastern College in 1932. It was at Northeastern that he met and subsequently married Elma Foltz of nearby Muskogee. His wife of 38 years, she preceded him in death in 1974. A schoolteacher and oilfield roughneck in his early career, Cochran also worked for the highway department in Oklahoma and Texas before World War II. After war broke out, he was employed by DuPont under contract to the War Manpower Commission, first in St. Paul, MN, then in Hanover, Washington. In Washington, he served on a security force linked to the government's famous Manhattan Project, which included the plutomium plants that developed the atomic bomb. One of the first seven people sent to Hanover, he went on to become captain of the patrol division based in Richland. After a brief stint with Standard Oil in the Texas Panhandle, he moved with his young family to Stamford, TX in 1947, where he worked for West Texas Utilities until his retirement in 1973. In December 1978, he married Bernice Stewart, who for 25 years was not only his loving wife, but also his friend, companion and caregiver. He was a member of the Central Presbyterian Church in Stamford, TX. Survivors include two sons, Mike Cochran of Fort Worth and his wife, Sondra Burson Cochran, and Fielding ''Butch'' Cochran of McLean, VA and his wife, Angela Ambrose Cochran; stepdaughter, Ruth Chalmers and husband, Matt of Gainesville; stepdaughter, Molly Clements and husband, Jerry of Dumas; stepson, Jerry Bowles, Jr. of Durango, CO. His extended family includes eleven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to Home Health, c/o Stamford Memorial Hospital, P.O. Box 911, Stamford, TX 79553 or The Central Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 67, Stamford, TX 79553 or Presbyterian Medical Care Mission, 302 Medical Drive, Abilene, TX 79601 or to the donor's favorite charity.