Tim Cochrane was born the evening of August 24, 1953 in his maternal grandparents’ home in Eureka, to James William Cochrane III and Alice Loree Stockton Cochrane of Loleta, California. He and elder brother James Michael “Sham” were later joined by Robert Todd and sister Leslie Loree, the four of them growing up on Singley Hill in Loleta.

Tim had an ear for music and began playing the piano when he was only three years old. On his fourth birthday, he was presented with a piano from his parents, launching a lifelong love for the instrument and all things musical.

Tim attended Loleta Elementary where his father was superintendent and briefly attended Fortuna Union High School before the family relocated to Chiapas, Mexico resulting in a year escaping formal education and exploring the jungles of the Yucatan. Later, the family moved to Peru when his parents joined the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

The time in the Amazon was formative for Tim and he embraced the different cultures, their traditions, music, and cuisines. Packing his trusty accordion along since the piano did not fit under his arm, he easily established rapport with people through his music and learning their music. When Tim was 16, he hitch-hiked from the jungle to the Andes, south to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, Chile and back, a trip that he never forgot.

After high school graduation in Peru, Tim returned to the States to attend College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State. It was there that he met Marie Mengel through mutual friends, and they married in 1975. In 1976, daughter Jana Marie was born and in 1978, Laura Ann joined the family. Three years later, Dorothy Loree was born, and Rebecca Elizabeth appeared on the scene in 1984, completing the family.

In 1975 Tim was recruited by Bank of America and by 1981 he was the Chief Financial Officer at Bank of Loleta. Seven years later in 1988, Tim left the Bank of Loleta to found Six Rivers National Bank and became President and Chief Executive Officer of the new community bank. The bank was noted for its technological innovation and caught the eye of the New York branch of the Federal Reserve Bank which was assisting the Russian Central Bank in its transition from the communist system to the free market. This led to Six Rivers National Bank hosting Russian bankers for hands-on experience in US banking and reciprocal invitations to Tim to travel to Russia on several occasions, where he made many lasting friendships.

Subsequently, Tim was asked to create Banker Benefits, a start-up human resources and benefits subsidiary for the California Bankers Association. After three years, Tim returned to banking, working as a management consultant in San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and Southern California before returning to Eureka and establishing Cochrane & Associates Wealth Management Services.

Health issues forced him into retirement and in 2011, he was fortunate enough to have a heart transplant, a gift from a donor family whom he never had the privilege of meeting. Tim and Marie became ardent advocates of organ donation and were provided the opportunity to honor Tim’s heart donor and to continue the legacy of organ donation with the untimely death of their eldest daughter Jana.

Tim was a wonderful, loving husband, father, papa, uncle and friend. He was a prankster at his core and enjoyed making people laugh and smile. He had a great love for all things cooking and baking, a past time that he often enjoyed with his grandchildren.  Even as he lay there in his final days, no less than three times in one day did three kids come asking for cooking tips: What temperature on that chocolate cake? What’s the zing you put in your huckleberry reduction sauce?  Papa, how do we prep this catfish to fry up? Tim raised four strong willed women and nurtured the development of eight grandkids, who all loved him dearly. He will be greatly missed by all, especially his wife of 49 years, Marie.

Tim left this life the morning of February 9, 2024, having squeezed the last possible second out of the time allotted him by our Creator. He was blessed to pass from this realm in the place he was most happy, his home for the past 16 years: On the beautiful Mattole River in Ettersburg.

He was preceded in death by his daughters Jana Marie Cochrane and Dorothy Loree Chambers; parents Jim and Loree Cochrane; brothers Sham, Patrick, and Todd; maternal grandparents Virgil and Ruby Stockton; paternal grandparents Jim and Louise Cochrane; son-in-law Charles Schuttloffel; brother-in-law Sam Mengel; and in-laws Lowell and Dorothy Mengel.

He is survived by his wife, Marie; daughter Laura Cochrane and her children Tig and Hazel Schuttloffel; daughter Rebecca Sheets, her husband Jason and their children Colin, Reed and Mae; son-in-law Douglas DeShiell; son-in-law Kelton Chambers and his children Kaden, Hunter and Makenzie; sister Leslie Loree Cochrane Burchfield, her husband Dennis and daughter Lauren; sister-in-law Cyndee Cochrane and her sons Justin and Christopher; brother-in-law Lowell Mengel; brother-in-law Ward Mengel, his wife Christine and son Carl; brother-in-law Russell Mengel, his wife Donna and children Russell, Robert, Kerri, Michelle and Jennifer; nephew Corey Cochrane; and niece Kristie Cochrane Stogner. He also leaves behind lifelong friends and confidantes Jon Sapper and Alan Mahon.

Reflecting on his life, Tim said “I’ve had a good ride. I was born into a loving family, had a wonderful wife and children, great friends, met many interesting people, had an interesting and successful career and been able to travel the world. What more could I ask for?” Indeed, what more?