Skip to main content

David Cochran

David Cochran, 67, of Tyler, MN, and formerly of Huntington, IN, died Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, at his home.

Mr. Cochran graduated from high school in Columbia, MS. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1968, 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, and then moved to Huntington, where he worked for Breyers Ice Cream.  He moved to Tyler, MN, in 2001, and was employed at Schwan Food Company before retiring in 2013 due to health issues. At one point he owned his own roofing and carpentry business.

He was born Sept. 14, 1948, to David and Hester Solomon Cochran in Birmingham, AL.  He had been married to Elizabeth May, to Shirley Elsten and to Debbie Deason. The latter preceded him in death in 2011.

Survivors include two children, Michell (James) Griffith and Tonie Cochran, all of Blythewood, SC; two stepdaughters, Sarah Scott, of Missouri, and Cynthia (Jason) Harter, of Pipestone, MN; a sister, Janet (Philllip) Cascio, of Mississippi; a sister-in-law, Betty Cochran, of Mississippi; two grandchildren, Cameron Griffith and Parker Griffith, both of Blythewood, SC; and two stepgranddaughters, Samantha Scott and Charlotte Scott, of Missouri.

A memorial service was held Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, at Hartquist Funeral Home in Tyler, MN.

Arrangements were handled by Hartquist Funeral Home, Utoft-Johansen Chapel in Tyler, MN.

The online registry may be found at www.hartquistfuneral.com.