Aubrey "Gerry" (Claborn) Cochran

Aubrey Geraldine “Gerry” Cochran was born to Almer Clyde and Austice Catherine Claborn in Sipe Springs, TX on December 18, 1930. After spending 67 years in Hobbs, NM, she passed on October 7, 2024 in Lubbock, TX at the age of 93 surrounded by her family. She is predeceased by her parents and two brothers, Larry Dwight Claborn and Clyde James Clabon. 

She is survived by D.A., her husband of 73 years; a sister, Vicki Parks, of Nashville, TN; a sister-in-law, Ann Claborn of Mooresville, NC; and her four children: Becky (and Brice) Kelley of Edmond, OK; Nancy (and Dave) Bland of Somerville, TN; Ross (and Stephanie) Cochran of Searcy, AR; and Libby (and Steve) German of Lubbock, TX. 

She is also survived by 12 grandchildren: Nathan (and Jennifer) Bland of Tampa, FL; Justin (and Heather) Bland of Searcy, AR; Brandon Bland of Memphis, TN; Andrea (and Cliff) Sloan of Houston, TX; Chris (and Caroline) Cochran of Oakland, CA; Gerianne (and John Paul) Leonard of Lubbock, TX; Barry (and Jill) Kelley of Edmond, OK; Allen Cochran of Breckenridge, CO; Julie (and Austin) Davis of Portland, OR; Gina (and Evan) Moore of Lubbock, TX; David (and Logan) Kelley of Edmond,OK; Hannah Cochran of Denver, CO; and 10 great grandchildren – Benson, Sloane, and Blake Leigh Bland of Tampa, FL; David, Joseph, and Joshua Bland of Searcy, AR; Barnett and Kylie Jo Moore of Lubbock, TX; Stella and Kellen Kelley of Edmond, OK; Lucy and James Sloan of Houston, TX, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. 

Gerry moved numerous times while growing up due to the nature of her dad’s work and the realities of the depression era. She graduated from high school in Kilgore, TX, in 1949 and then attended Abilene Christian College, where she met D.A. “Cowboy” Cochran. They married February 24, 1951 and lived in “the barracks” at ACC until D.A. graduated in 1952. She and D.A. managed a ranch in La Vida, Colorado for a family friend before moving to Hobbs in 1954.

She was a member of the Taylor Street Church of Christ in Hobbs where she taught the five-year-old Bible class continuously for 60 years. She also hosted or contributed to numerous wedding and baby showers, and cooked countless meals that were delivered to others’ homes on occasions of newborns, illness, or grief.

Gerry worked several years as a bookkeeper for Taylor Oil Company. She was an accomplished seamstress, quilter, and cake decorator. Her hobbies included gardening, cooking, and reading. As a mother Gerry instinctively nurtured and intentionally trained her children. She and D.A. identified and communicated three goals for them: To become Christians, to attend a Christian college, and if they married, to marry Christians. Their relentless but non-coercive pursuit of these goals are bearing fruit into the fourth generation.

Gerry’s life of faith and service blessed the members of her church and community and was an example and inspiration to all who knew her. Like Demetrius in 3 John 12, she is “well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself,” and like the woman lauded in Proverbs 31, “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

The family would especially like to thank the staff of Bridge Hospice of Lubbock as well as the in-home caregivers that tended to Mom after she and D.A. moved next door to Libby and Steve. 

In lieu of flowers, Mom would want donations sent to their endowed scholarship fund at Harding University. www.harding.edu/givenow. Here are the specific instructions needed: Select "Other" in the Designation drop down list. Type D.A. and Gerry Cochran Endowed Scholarship. Click the box for "this gift is in honor, memory, or support of someone." In the comment box, type Gerry Cochran. Alternatively, you can send a check to the D.A. & Gerry Cochran Scholarship Fund at Harding University. Write “D.A.& Gerry Cochran Scholarship Fund” in the memo line, and send to Harding University, ℅ Advancement Office, 915 E. Market Street, Searcy, AR 72149.