Tom Ellis Cochran

Dr. Tom Ellis Cochran, age 84, of Springdale, died April 13, 2013, at the Earlene Howard Circle of Life Hospice House in Springdale. He was born July 28, 1928, in Paragould, Ark., the son of Mert and Opal Cochran. He was raised in Jonesboro, Arkansas and attended Arkansas State University and Loyola University Dental School in New Orleans. He served in all the stations in Millerton Masonic Lodge #245 in Haynesville, La., and participated in degree work in lodges all over Northwest Louisiana. Dr. Cochran served in the United States Navy during World War II where he served as a hospital corpsman. He was raised in a Christian home and said that he did not have a single "born again moment" but had several, sometimes in a church and sometimes in a boat on a lake. Many times he observed the honest good that manifests itself in his fellow human beings. He sang in the choir at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tontitown for many years and helped with the Tontitown Grape Festival for several years. An accomplished writer, Dr. Cochran received several national awards from the Veterans Administration. He stood for many years by a dental chair after being discharged from the Navy. He leaves this world standing on the promises of God. Dr. Cochran is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marian Cochran, of the home; one son, Thomas Cochran and his wife, Kate, of West Fork; one daughter, Kelly Pratt and her husband Gary, of Tulsa, Okla.; two granddaughters; one grandson and his wife; three great-grandchildren; one sister,Teddy Tanksley, of Melville, N.Y.; his brother-in-law, Dr. Charles Shuster, and his wife, Charlene, and their children; his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Pianalto, and the entire Pianalto family that has made life so pleasant in Springdale. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at 10 a.m. at Memorial Funeral Chapel with Rev. Audie Long and Dwain Pianalto officiating. Private burial will be in Huntsville, Ark. Memorials may be made to St. Joseph's Catholic Church Sunday Choir, Tontitown, Ark.; Springdale Methodist Church Bread of Life, Springdale, Ark.; and Earlene Howard Circle of Life Hospice, 901 Jones Road, Springdale, Ark. Online condolences may be made to www.memfuneral.com.