Mrs. Shirley Orr Cochran

ALBANY – Shirley Orr Cochran, 89, of Albany, GA died Tuesday, October 17 at Wilson Hospice House. The family will receive friends in the Atrium of Sherwood Baptist Church, 2201 Whispering Pines Road, Albany, GA at 12:30PM on Friday, October 20, 2017 and the funeral service will follow at 1:30PM in the Chapel. Burial will follow the service at Crown Hill Cemetery, 1907 Dawson Road, Albany, GA. Shirley was born June 13, 1928 in the city of Fairfield, Jefferson County, Alabama and grew up in Ensley and Greenwood, AL. She was the Salutatorian of her high school class and joined the United States Cadet Nurse Corps in 1945 undergoing training at the Metropolitan Hospital in New York City. Shirley married Lonnie Cochran, Jr. on June 13, 1948 at Canaan Baptist Church in Greenwood, AL. In 1949 they moved to Montgomery, AL where they raised their family and attended Ridgecrest Baptist Church. Shirley served as Math Department Chair at Lanier High School and served her fellow teachers as President of the Alabama Association of Classroom Teachers, member of the Alabama Teachers Retirement Board, and an officer of the Alabama Education Association. After retirement, Shirley and Lonnie moved to Albany, GA and joined Sherwood Baptist Church where she baked bread for visitors and taught Sunday School. She continued to use her math skills as a volunteer for the AARP-IRS Tax Aide Program. She was an active member of the DAR Chehaw Chapter of Putney, Delta Kappa Gamma, Garden Club, and the Woman’s Club. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years Lonnie Cochran, Jr. and her parents Homer Sibley Orr and Kathryn Craig. She is survived by her sisters Amelia Orr Debusman of Louisville, KY and Rebecca Thomas of Alabaster, AL; children Patricia C. Bergman (Bruce) of McArthur, CA and Douglas O. Cochran (Jo) of Lee County, GA; grandchildren Wade M. Iuele (Dana), Nicole A. Iuele, and Melissa I. Marshall (Joseph) of Sacramento, CA, John N. Cochran (Amy) of Bethlehem, GA and Jessica L. Cochran of Juba, South Sudan; and eight great-grandchildren. Those desiring may send memorials to Sherwood Baptist Church or to The Cochran Family Scholarship Fund at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, School for the Blind, P.O. Box 698, Talladega, AL 35161.

Mrs. Shirley Orr Cochran

June 13, 1928 - October 17, 2017