Lloyd Cochran

Dr. Lloyd C. Cochran died Monday at the age of 101. He was born April 5, 1906 at Frankfort, Ind., son of Bertha E. and Morris E. Cochran, both school teachers and later farmers. Lloyd attended a country one-room grade school and graduated from Rossville, Ind., High School. He received a BSA degree from Purdue University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology from Michigan State University. In 1933 he married Maud V. Tague and in 1936 they moved to Riverside, Calif., where he joined the Citrus Experimental Station of the University of California. For the next 21 years he did research on virus diseases of citrus and deciduous fruit and nut trees for the university and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1957 they moved to Orlando, Fla., where Lloyd became Director of Citrus Production Research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1959 they moved to Beltsville, Md., where Lloyd became Chief of Fruit and Tree Nut Crops Research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Lloyd retired in 1969 and they moved to Corvallis where he joined the botany department of Oregon State University to work on rose diseases. Following retirement from Oregon State University in 1973 Lloyd took several consulting assignments which included three years in Iran and shorter terms in Pakistan, Kenya and The Philippines. Lloyd helped found several International Fruit Tree Research Groups, including The European Fruit Tree Virus and the International Citrus Virus Congresses. They traveled widely to meetings and fruit growing areas in many countries. Lloyd and Maud had two children, a daughter, Lettie Mortimer and husband James in Rapid City, S.D., and a son, John Cochran and wife Sharon, in Annapolis, Md.; four grandchildren, Dr. Jeb Mortimer and wife Dr. Kristie Mortimer of Seattle, Wash.; Shan Nelson and husband Scott of Minneapolis, Minn.; Lettie Weldon and husband Jeremy of Denton, Md.; and Carrie Cochran of Denton, Md.; and five great grandchildren, Darma Cochran Mortimer, Lucy Joie Mortimer, Rylie Kay Nelson, Ryland James Nelson and Lila Sierra Weldon. No public services will be held.

Lloyd Cochran

April 5, 1906 - February 4, 2008