Joyce C. Cochran's Obituary
Joyce Carroll Cochran died peacefully in her sleep Wednesday morning, April 19, at the Methodist Hospice Residence in Memphis. She was 95 years old.
Mrs. Cochran was the widow of Robert H. Cochran, who died at the age of 91 in 2017 after 68 years of marriage.
Visitation will be held at 10 a.m. followed by a service at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 25, at Memorial Park Funeral Home, followed by a burial service at 1 p.m. at the rotunda at West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, where she will be buried with her late husband.
Mrs. Cochran was born at her parents’ home on Aug. 6, 1927, at Michie, Tenn., the third of 11 children of Dewey and Mary M. (Wood) Carroll. After World War II she moved to Memphis to attend Miss Wyles Office Training School and the American Institute of Banking. She also attended classes at what is now the University of Memphis and took University of Tennessee extension courses.
A friend introduced her to Robert, a World War II Navy combat veteran from Holly Springs, Miss., who had moved to Memphis to attend William R. Moore School of Technology. They married in 1949.
The couple started a family, eventually having three daughters. In time, Robert became owner of a service station and Mrs. Cochran was fully engaged in it as well, keeping the books. After he sold the station, she worked as a bookkeeper for Cumberland Presbyterian Center in Memphis, from which she eventually retired.
In her retirement Mrs. Cochran pursued a long-time passion for art, taking classes and producing a steady output of creative works, particularly oil paintings. She also kept up an interest in public affairs, always ready with an opinion about an upcoming election or a controversial issue. With her sharp mind for numbers, her business acumen continually impressed her family.
She leaves three daughters and their husbands: Mary Hight of Knoxville and her husband Bruce; Dianne Jones of Memphis and her husband T.W.; and Robbie Rodgers of Collierville and her husband Keith.
She also leaves six grandchildren: Robert Hight of Seattle; Meredith Downing of Knoxville; Kevin Cubbins of Memphis; Scott Cubbins of Memphis; Ashley Vickery of Rossville, Tenn., and Chris Rodgers of Collierville. She also leaves nine great-grandchildren.
Four sisters also survive Mrs. Cochran: Wanda Tucker of Michie, Martha Dupree of Michie, Linda Carpenter of Corinth, Miss., and Mary Bassett of LaGrange, Ga.
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