Louise Cockrell

Louise (Walker) Cockrell

Our loving mother, sister, and friend Louise Cockrell passed away on September 2nd in Seattle, Washington.  She was born on October 22nd, 1930 to George and Lottie (Walsh) Walker in Monroe, Louisiana.  Louise graduated from Many High School in 1948 and then attended Panola College in Carthage, Texas taking courses in business.  After moving to Joaquin, Louise worked at the only café in downtown Joaquin where she met John Floyd Cockrell whom she eventually married on December 15, 1952.

A while after marrying John, Louise joined him in Manhattan Beach, CA where he was stationed in the Army.  Louise returned to Joaquin to give birth to her son Ronald at Barksdale A.F.B. in October 1955.  The family continued living in Joaquin after John was discharged from the service where Louise worked as a teller at the Texas State Bank in Joaquin.

In August of 1961, Louise and John decided to pack up their family and move to Tacoma, Washington in search of more opportunities for the future.  John’s oldest sister and family were already living there, and John knew the area as he was stationed nearby during the Korean War.  Louise and John remained happily married in Tacoma until John’s passing in the spring of 1983.  After Ronald went to college, Louise returned to work as a store teller for the Fred Meyer grocery chain eventually retiring in 1992.

After retirement, Louise continued to enjoy her favorite pastimes of shopping, sewing, crochet, knitting, reading, and gardening.  She lived independently in the family home until her health would no longer allow in early 2016.

Louise will be laid to rest in Sholar Cemetery next to her husband John.  Friends and family are invited to visit Louise at the Mangum Funeral Home in Center, Texas on Saturday, October 2nd between 5 & 7 pm.  A private service will be held graveside at her interment.

Louise is survived by her sister Delores Gallien of Shreveport, her son Ronald Cockrell and his husband Michael Messick of Tacoma, WA as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins on both her and John’s sides of the family.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charitable organization in Louise’s name.