William Neal Cochran
William Neal (Bill) Cochran, a lifelong resident of the Roanoke Valley, passed away on June 30, 2024 at age of 86. He spent more than a half-century writing about the outdoors and teaching Bible classes. He was outdoor editor of the Roanoke Times from 1962 until retirement in 1998. After that he continued to write a weekly Roanoke Times and roanoke.com column for another decade. His columns won numerous awards, including 10 major recognitions by the Virginia Press Association. A profile in Southern Living Magazine said "He wrote vividly, eloquently, informatively and entertainingly." In 2009, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the first outdoor writer to receive that honor.
He is survived by Katherine Gravett Cochran, his beloved wife and best friend of 59 years; a son, Preston, a daughter-in-law, Tonja, and granddaughter, Kalei. Preceding him in death was infant grandson, Travis Martin Cochran (4/25/2000); his parents, Allan R. and Ruby B. Cochran, and sister Nancy Cochran Wooldridge.
Bill and Katherine operated CrossTrails Bed & Breakfast for eight years, an inn in the Catawba Valley adjacent to the Appalachian Trail, between McAfee Knob and Dragon's Tooth.
The Cochrans also have managed a 300-acre tree farm near Snowshoe, West Virginia, planting thousands of trees, including Fraser firs that they sold on a Christmas tree lot in the Williamson Road area of Roanoke.
Cochran was a graduate of William Fleming High School Class of 1956. He earned a degree in English Literature at The University of Lynchburg (Lynchburg College) where he was a member of the Class of 1960. He served in the Virginia National Guard for 6 years.
Cochran gained an appreciation for the outdoors from his father, who was supervisor of the Jefferson National Forest. Before he was old enough to drive, his mother would take him to fishing spots, a favorite was Jennings Creek in Botetourt County. One of Cochran's great joys was sharing the outdoors with family and friends. An annual youth fishing tournament on Smith Mountain Lake was named after him. In recent years the family has kept a boat for fishing at a vacation home on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Cochran wrote hundreds of articles in magazines that include Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Sports Afield and Virginia Wildlife. As a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, he was one of the authors of an instruction manual on communicating the outdoor experience. He served on a wildlife advisory committee at Virginia Tech and was a consultant for University of Virginia Press.
He was a strong advocate for the conservation of natural resources, which won him major recognition. In House Joint Resolution 520, the Virginia General Assembly honored him in 1999, saying "Bill Cochran has used his column to fight pollution of the Commonwealth's matchless natural environment and to conserve Virginia's mountains, fields, rivers and streams."
Cochran also was a fisher of men. He was a member of Bonsack Baptist Church where he taught the 100-plus member Seeker's Sunday School Class. Prior to that, he taught at First Baptist Church of Roanoke and Oakland Baptist Church of Roanoke. For more than 50 years, he taught a Bible study at the Roanoke City Jail.
He has been an active worker in the Hunters for the Hungry organization, which provides food for the needy, and the Samaritan's Purse Shoe Box ministry, which benefits children around the world.
Other survivors include brother-in-law, Dan E. Wooldridge, of Roanoke; nieces: Rebecca Wooldridge Ewell (Wyatt) of Catawba; Nancy Diane Wooldridge Laing (Rob) of Roanoke and Sarah Paige Wooldridge of San Francisco.
Service details are still pending, please check back for further details.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be directed to Hunters for the Hungry, 1108 Sedalia School Road, Big Island, VA 24526 or the "Living Stones" building initiative at Bonsack Baptist Church, 4845 Cloverdale Road, Roanoke, Va. 24019.
