Gary Don Cochran

The family of Gary D. Cochran will gather on Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 6:00pm at Muehlig Funeral Chapel and they invite friends to come and celebrate his life and share special memories. Gary was born October 13, 1938 in Detroit, MI to Howard and Verley Cochran. He married his high school sweetheart, LaRue, on September 13, 1958. Gary earned a PhD in Physics from the University of Michigan in 1967 and played trumpet in the Michigan Marching Band. Throughout his career, he contributed to the development in the fields of holography, optics, synthetic aperture radar, and many aspects of gauge technology. He was a true visionary and inventor and holds several patents. Gary was a creative thinker with a passion for solving problems in unique ways. He had a lifelong thirst for learning. Everything he pursued, he did with abandon, becoming an expert in each area. After retiring from his career in science, he renewed his long love of music and began playing the trumpet again, ultimately participating in more than 4 different bands in both Michigan and Florida. He was an avid reader and also loved to garden. He was a true renaissance man. Gary was incredibly generous in all ways with all people. He lived his life to the fullest; enthusiastic, optimistic and most of all honorable. But of all his passions, he was most devoted to his family. He enjoyed spending time with his daughter Robin Keith and son-in-law Jon Keith of Ann Arbor, MI; his daughter Cari Ralph of Sarasota, FL; his grandchildren Melissa, Lindsey, Adam, and Amanda, and his great- granddaughter Olivia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Washtenaw County Community Band, Shirley Charbonneau, [email protected].