Samuel Warren Cochran

"Sam" was born August 1, 1921 in Wayne County Mississippi, the oldest of six children of Samuel Wilburn and Bessie Robinson Cochran.

He held a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mississippi College, a Master of Arts degree from Peabody College, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Ohio State University.

Colonel Cochran flew 72 missions in a B-26 airplane during WWII including participating in D-Day and culminating when his plane was shot down over enemy territory.

Dr. Cochran taught Psychology at the Air Force Academy, East Texas State University and University of Texas at San Antonio.

Throughout his life he was physically active. He enjoyed long-distance bicycle rides in the local area including a trip across the United States in 1998 and bicycle racing in the Senior Olympics.

Sam was active in Southern Baptist churches throughout his life. He held many leadership and service positions in his home churches, most recently at First Baptist Church of San Antonio.

He was married to Pauline Polly Wingo Cochran for 48 years before she passed away in 1993.

He is survived by his son, Thomas Wilburn Cochran of Arlington, Virginia and daughter-in-law Cynthia Wiggins Cochran; daughter Suzanne Cochran Hening of Rocky Mount, North Carolina; son-in-law Richard Scott Hening; grandsons Andrew Neil and Samuel Morgan Hening.

Visitation Wednesday from 5:00 PM to 9:00PM at the Freeman Funeral Home in Waynesboro, Mississippi.

Memorial Service Thursday 10:00 AM in the Freeman Funeral Home Chapel.

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Express News Article from June 8, 2003

Cochran, 81, enjoyed a many-faceted life to the end

By Carmina Danini

Web Posted : 06/08/2003

If ever there was someone who lived a full life, it was Samuel W. Cochran, a World War II veteran, Fulbright Scholar, teacher at the Air Force Academy, professor emeritus at UTSA and cycling enthusiast.

Cochran, 81, who retired from the Air Force with the rank of lieutenant colonel, died of natural causes on Thursday, said his son, Tom Cochran of Arlington, Va.

The pilot and only survivor of a B-26 that was shot down over France in the summer of 1944, Cochran was saved by German soldiers and sent to a hospital in Paris.

'He firmly believed that because of the severity of his burns, he would have died if he'd been taken to England,' Tom Cochran said. 'At the time, the Germans had better treatment for burns than the Allies.'

With the help of the French underground, Cochran escaped from the hospital. He hid out and survived by eating pigeons until he was rescued.

After the war, he returned home and went to Mississippi College for his bachelor's degree. He also earned a master's from the George Peabody College of Teachers and a doctorate in experimental psychology from Ohio State University.

His final assignment with the Air Force led him to the Rand Corp. during the Vietnam War.

While on the faculty at East Texas State University in Commerce, Cochran was awarded a Fulbright scholarship. He spent a year teaching at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara before returning to Texas.

Cochran came to the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1986.

While working as an adjunct professor of psychology at UTSA, he also conducted research on nonagenarians — people 90-99 years old.

In his late 60s, Cochran took up cycling and participated in the Texas Senior Olympics several times.

Cochran, at age 76, and several others made a cross-country trek on bicycles from Oregon to Virginia.

Cochran turned his experiences on the 100-day trip into a book.

Active even after he retired from UTSA in 2001, he went cycling, swimming, did aerobics and even parasailed.

'Activity fosters energy,' he said in an article that appeared three years ago in a publication of the Golden Key Honor Society. 'My age never enters my mind. Mostly, it's what can I do with my body? What enters my mind is, do I have the skills to do it?'

Cochran's wife, Pauline, died in 1993.

In addition to his son, he is survived by a daughter, Suzanne Hening of Rocky Mount, N.C.; and two grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at the First Baptist Church of San Antonio, 515 McCullough Ave.