Deborah Jean Cochran Sparkman

SPARKMAN, Deborah “Debbie” Jean Cochran, passed away on August 19, 2023. She was predeceased by her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Owen L. Cochran, Sr.; and brother, Owen L. Cochran, Jr. She is survived by her beloved husband of 54 years, William “Fraser” Sparkman; daughter Margaret Jean “Jennie” S. Whitman (Allen); sisters Mary Carolyn Cochran Geary; Martha Cochran Wallace Dawson (Bill); brother George Cochran (Benny); a niece; 3 nephews and cousins, and her “fur baby” Bob.

Debbie was born 1947, in Nashville, Tennessee and moved to Mountain Brook at the age of 4. She attended Crestline Elementary School; Mountain Brook Junior High School; and graduated from Shades Valley High School in the class of 1965. She then graduated from Samford University in 1969 where she was a member of Phi Mu sorority; accomplished volley ball player and captain of the Samford swim and the precision water ballet team: The Will-O-Wets. During her pre-college years she was a champion swimmer on the Vestavia Country Club swim team winning over 150 ribbons, trophies, and awards, including participation in the Junior Olympics . During her college summers Debbie was a water ski instructor and councilor at Camp Paul Bear Bryant on Lake Logan Martin.

She then began a long banking career that included Birmingham Trust National Bank and then retiring from National Bank of Commerce. Then she began a second career with Dermatology Partners, Inc.; Debbie held an Alabama real estate salesperson’s license for over 30 years; and at her passing she was vice-president of ASRE Group, LLC. Debbie had been a member of Mountain Brook Swim and Tennis Club; ; The American Legion Auxiliary Post 134; Secretary of the Birmingham Aero Club; Women’s Committee of the Birmingham Symphony; The Aquarius Dance Club; and The Club. Debbie, along with her family, was a founding member of Canterbury United Methodist Church Mountain Brook. Debbie was a “cruise addict” having sailed on more than 30 cruises to where it was warm and had a sandy beach. Debbie enjoyed any type of travel and always had a bag packed ready to go. Our family wishes to sincerely thank Drs. Campbell, Forrester, Donahue, and all the compassionate nurses and teams at UAB Hospital ICU , Palliative Care Units, and the team at Brookdale REHAB in seeing that Debbie had the best care over the past 3 months.

Please consider making a donation in Debbie’s memory to King’s Home; 221 King’s Home Drive; P.O. Box 162; Chelsea, AL 35043; www.kingshome.com/onlinegiving.

Debbie will be interned in Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama.

A celebration of life service will be held on Friday, September 8th, at 2:00 PM, at Canterbury United Methodist Church, 350 Overbrook Road, Mountain Brook (Birmingham), AL, with visitation in the church parlor after the service.

Services are under the direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel (205.879.3401) in Homewood.