Bill Cochran

Born on January 13, 1928, in Gadsden, AL, William Pershing Cochran eventually worked as a Radar and Range Safety and Control expert for 34 years at the Air Force Missile Test Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Prior to this he married the love of his life, Mary Pauline Russell, on June 4, 1948. They enjoyed 60 years of love and devotion. Shortly after their first child, Warren Lee Cochran, was born (November 21, 1951), William was called to serve in the Air Force and was stationed on an island offshore from North Korea where he served as a radar expert tracking Chinese MIG jets as they flew into South Korea for bombing runs.While on the island, he served the native people with the gospel and love of Jesus Christ and helped them build a meeting hall. The troops endured frequent artillery attacks. His photo-documentation of the native people was excellent enough that the Korean government welcomed his slides donation to their cultural museum where it is permanently archived.

After his return from Korea, he and Pauline added Thomas Wayne and Mary Elizabeth to their family. They lived in Cocoa and then Merritt Island, Florida, where William and Pauline were very active in Christian service at First Baptist Church Merritt Island, Florida, from which they served on several mission trips.

In his final years he lived with his daughter Mary Elizabeth Cochran-Spencer, her husband William Everett Spencer, Jr. and his granddaughter Ashley Elizabeth Spencer. He was loved and comforted by his wonderful caregiver of one and a half years, Brittany Carroll. He died in Mary’s home (July 9, 2025, at 11:20PM, Alachua, FL) in peace and calm surrounded by loved ones. He is now with his Lord Jesus and the loved ones who went before him.

William was preceded in death by his parents Edwin Shelton Cochran and Vera Naomi Hollingsworth, his sisters Lucy Francis Cochran and Vera Jo Cochran, his brother Edwin Henry Cochran, his wife Mary Pauline Russell-Cochran, and his grandson Bryant Jesse Lee Johnson.

He is survived by his sons Warren Lee Cochran of Merritt Island, FL, and Thomas Wayne Cochran of Oklahoma City, OK, and his daughter Mary Elizabeth Cochran-Spencer of Alachua, FL; nine grandchildren Samantha, Chase, Joshua, Chara, Jesse, Wesley, Erik, Brinnon, and Ashley; and twenty-six great grandchildren.