Mary Jo Cochran

Mary Jo Cochran of Chattanooga, TN passed away on March 6, 2019, in Birmingham, Ala., where she had resided since 2017. She was born to the late Elder Haden P. and Jimmie Bodine Copeland on June 12, 1928 in Arab, Ala. Mary Jo graduated from Arab High School and received her undergraduate and master’s degrees in home economics from Auburn University. She met her future husband Walter Cochran while attending Auburn. They married on June 11, 1950. They moved to Chattanooga, Tn where they raised three sons and operated Professional Pharmacy. Mary Jo was preceded in death by husband, Walter L. Cochran Jr.; sister, Faye Markham of Boaz, Ala., and brother, J. Paul Copeland, of Atlanta, Ga. She is survived by her three sons, Walter L. Cochran III, of Chattanooga, TN, Charles Lee Cochran, of Collinsville, Ala., and Joseph Lynn Cochran MD (Susan), of Birmingham, Ala. She is also survived by grandchildren Lindsay Elizabeth Cochran, of Birmingham, AL, William Andrew Cochran, of Chattanooga, TN, sister Ruth Young, of Atlanta, Ga., brother, Robert B. Copeland MD (Jenny), of LaGrange, Ga.; sister, Jane Walley (Bill), of Auburn, AL; and many nieces and nephews. Mary Jo taught at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1964 to 1993 where she served as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Home Economics. Mary Jo was a member of First Centenary United Methodist Church. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Kosmos Women’s Club, and the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts. Mary Jo served as president of the Chattanooga Historical Society and the Missionary Ridge Neighborhood Association where she helped to place the Missionary Ridge Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. She was a member of the Collinsville Study Club in Walter’s hometown and published its history in “Your Grandmother’s Study Club”. She was listed in Who’s Who of American women. A memorial service was held Saturday March 8, at 2 p.m. in the chapel of St. Martins in Birmingham AL. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to Encore Community Respite Ministry, Canterbury United Methodist Church, 350 Overbrook Road, Birmingham, Al 35213.