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2018 SESSION

18104648D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 122
Offered February 6, 2018
Celebrating the life of Marion Lee Stuart Cochran.
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Patrons-- Hanger and Deeds
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WHEREAS, Marion Lee Stuart Cochran, a beloved wife and mother and a celebrated philanthropist who generously supported arts and cultural institutions in Staunton, died on December 19, 2017; and

WHEREAS, an Abingdon native, Lee Cochran attended Chatham Hall boarding school and earned a bachelor’s degree from Hollins University in 1946; in 1948, she married George M. Cochran, a lawyer who later served as a Virginia state Delegate and Senator and then as a Virginia Supreme Court justice; and

WHEREAS, together with her husband, Lee Cochran spent much of her life as a philanthropist and ambassador for the Staunton community; among many other projects, she was instrumental in the creation of the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia and also the American Shakespeare Center and Blackfriars Playhouse; and

WHEREAS, Lee Cochran was also closely involved with the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, the Sears Hill Bridge revitalization, and numerous historical preservation efforts; and

WHEREAS, Lee Cochran served on boards of directors across the Commonwealth, including the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Monticello’s Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Committee on Refurbishing the Executive Mansion, the University of Virginia Board of Visitors, and the University of Virginia Foundation Board of Directors; and

WHEREAS, a proud Stauntonian, Lee Cochran also served her hometown on the Planters Bank & Trust Company of Virginia’s Board of Directors, the Thornrose Cemetery Board of Directors, the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation Board of Trustees, and the American Frontier Culture Foundation’s Board of Directors; and

WHEREAS, a former president of the Garden Club of Virginia, Lee Cochran was also a member and past president of the Augusta Garden Club and served on the Garden Club of America’s Board of Directors; in 1980, she received the Garden Club of Virginia’s Massie Medal; and

WHEREAS, Lee Cochran’s many other honors include a 1985 Hollins Medal from Hollins University, the American Shakespeare Center’s 2004 Robin Goodfellow Award, and Mary Baldwin University’s 2011 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award; in 1995, she and her husband were named Outstanding Virginians by the General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, Lee Cochran’s service projects and charitable endeavors made an indelible mark on Staunton and won her the respect and admiration of her community; and

WHEREAS, predeceased by her husband of 62 years, George, and her son, G. Moffett, Lee Cochran will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her son, Stuart, and his family, as well as countless other family members, friends, and Staunton residents; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Marion Lee Stuart Cochran, a dedicated philanthropist who tirelessly served the Staunton community; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Marion Lee Stuart Cochran as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.