Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory

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A member of St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Oxon Hill, Maryland since 1964, Lt Col George W. Cochran, Jr., USAF (Ret), age 90, died peacefully in his sleep, at his home, on Jan 12, 2022.  

George was born in Monkton, Maryland, on Atlanta Hall farm, part of My Lady’s Manor.  The 200 acres of fields and livestock were owned by the Voss family and managed by George’s father, who was likely to assert before dinner, “Everything on this table was raised on this farm, except for the salt and pepper.”  Wilbur—as George was always called by his mother—was the fifth child and first son in a family which would grow to ten children.  He attended Taylor School, a one-room schoolhouse, through grade 6, then St. Margaret School in Bel Air, and graduated from Bel Air High School, Class of 1948.   

After a year at Baltimore Community College, George transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park, to major in agricultural economics, graduating in 1953.  An ROTC cadet, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force and began his 20-year career at Patrick AFB, Florida.  He met Alice, the love of his life, on nearby Cocoa Beach and they married in 1955.  They soon moved to Homestead AFB, Florida, followed by RAF Sculthorpe in England, where his role was to ensure that nuclear weapons were safely prepared and loaded onto squadrons of B-45s, B-47s, and B-66s.  

George next earned a second bachelors and a master’s in industrial engineering at Oklahoma State in Stillwater.  By now a major, he moved his family with five children to suburban Washington, D.C. in Maryland, where in 1964 he and Alice purchased the house which has endured as the family home to this day.  He served at Hq Air Force Systems Command at Andrews AFB, Md, then Hq Air Force at the Pentagon, and in Saigon, Vietnam; and again at Andrews, retiring in 1974.  He then began a civil service career of 13 years as a management engineer for the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

 
George’s life vocation was much broader and deeper than his professional careers.  His children reminisce … 

	- Dad was the kind of father who spent lots of quality time with us, individually and together.  He was a Scout leader and we also went boating, played sports, and enjoyed backyard cookouts and crab feasts.  We gathered in the living room on Saturday evenings to watch slide shows overflowing with pictures of our early years – we did lots of family stuff.  Plus, Dad had nine siblings–which translated to 36 first cousins–so we often spent weekends visiting them.    

	- We learned so much from our father.  He was an honorable man, a devoted Catholic, and the world’s best straight-faced fibber.  A strict disciplinarian, Dad wanted us to be very conscious of our responsibilities as members of the family and as citizens of the community.  Our mother gets the credit for teaching us patience, but because of Mom’s and Dad’s teamwork, we developed a foundation of empathy, sacrifice, and independence.  

When Alice’s weakness began to increase from myotonic dystrophy, George retired early from civil service to be more present for her (which she labeled a mixed blessing).  He assisted her for the next 17 years, including at least 17 road trips to her much-loved Siesta Key beach in Florida.  Their empty-nester phase didn’t last long.  The melodious chaos of grandchildren and great grandchildren soon filled the house, which always delighted “Pop Pop”.  George will be remembered as a profoundly caring and generous person, the most obvious evidence being the deep sorrow his family and friends feel from his passing.  

Mr. Cochran is survived by four children from his 49-year marriage to the always insightful and mostly imperturbable Alice Augusta (née Berastegui), who predeceased him in 2002: James Joseph, Ann Marie Jordan (Bret), Michael Henry (Julie), and John Kevin.  He also leaves eight grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and sisters Margaret Keithley and Judith Shaker (Sam).  He was predeceased by daughters Mary Alice Hovey in 2021 and infant Teresa Kathleen and by grandson Patrick Christopher Jordan; by his parents, George W. “Wicks” and Mary Thelma; sisters Catherine Eburg (Robert), Mary Hanlon (James Lee), Doris Ostendarp (William), Elizabeth Daniel (Gerald), and Barbara; and brothers Robert (Jean) and Thomas “Tim” (Penny). 

Visitation will be at Kalas Funeral Home in Oxon Hill, Md on Friday, Jan 28, 6 – 8 p.m.  The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Ignatius (now “St. Luke’s at St. Ignatius”) Parish in Oxon Hill on Saturday, Jan 29 at 10:30 a.m., followed by a reception.  Interment at Arlington National Cemetery will occur several weeks afterward.  

The family wishes to extend its most sincere gratitude to Mr. Noel Enomhonse, George’s home health aide for 16 months; Mrs. Adie Ajadi, his caring and insightful nurse practitioner; Dr. Steven Lo and nurse practitioner Safia Abdillahi of Georgetown University Hospital Neurology; physical therapists Tamika Wright and Natascha Wilson; and to our dear neighbors and fellow parishioners of 58 years, especially Deacon (Ordained) Clark Glenn and his family, for our many shared joys and growth experiences in our journey of faith.  

As a fitting honor to George’s profound caring and generosity, the family respectfully suggests a modest contribution to one of these worthy efforts:
Birthright of Woodbridge, Virginia at https://www.birthrightofwoodbridge.org/ Parkinson’s Foundation at https://www.parkinson.org/

George Cochran’s funeral Mass will be live-streamed on YouTube.  You don’t need to have a YouTube account to watch it.  Simply copy and paste it into your browser’s address line.  If you’re in the right place, the page will say ProLife Buyer.  


Here’s the link:       rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2

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Interment Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 3 p.m. Please arrive at the Administration Building at 2:15 p.m. with Government issued ID and one's own transportation.  




Lt Col George W. Cochran, Jr., USAF (Ret.)

Lt Col George W. Cochran, Jr., USAF (Ret.)

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