RONALD HARRY COCHRAN

Graveside services for Ronald Cochran, 58, of Kilgore, are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22, 2008, at Danville Cemetery, with Pastor James Shepard officiating, under the direction of Rader Funeral Home of Kilgore.

Mr. Cochran passed away on Saturday, March 15, 2008, in a Longview nursing home. He was born May 18, 1949, in Bedford, Ohio to Ralph Harry Cochran and Eleanor Margaret Schneider, both preceding him in death.

He attended school in Hudson ISD in Summit County, Ohio, where he met his future wife, Gloria, when he was 12 years old. Ron and Gloria were married for 38 years. She preceded him in death March 10, 2008.

He spent his whole life providing for his family. He managed several businesses and eventually managed and later owned Hickory Fare BBQ and WagonMaster BBQ in Kilgore.

His work ethic was unparalleled. There was nothing he couldn't fix - whether it was a car or something around the house. He taught his boys to be cooks and to be handy as they worked alongside their father over the years. In addition to building the home their family lived in, there are also numerous homes around East Texas that were remodeled by Ron while he ran a construction business.

He and his wife loved people and took in to their home people in need. His sons said their parents gave when they had a lot and they gave when they had very little.

They adopted their granddaughter Megan and after Mr. Cochran developed congestive heart failure he said Megan 'kept him going'. In the week since his wife's death, Mr. Cochran was making every effort to prepare things so he could return home to be there for Megan.

In the later years as his health failed, he took over the grocery shopping and fellow consumers knew to look out for him on his rascal scooter. One of the highlights of his week was Sunday when the coupons came out in the newspapers.

The way he took care of his wife and loved her provided a blueprint for his sons on how to treat their own wives and provide for their own families. He had a great sense of humor and never lost his ability to laugh or to make others laugh. Neither Ron nor Gloria thought they could make it without the other and now they don't have to.

Mr. Cochran is survived by his sons, Ronald William Cochran of Roise City, John Allen Cochran of Round Rock, and Thomas Wayne Cochran of Longview; daughter Megan Leigh Cochran of Kilgore; sisters Jan Morrison of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and Carol Hudock of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio; brother Dave Cochran of Ravenna, Ohio; one grandchild; and numerous nieces and nephews.