William "Bill" Lee Cocherl

Funeral services will be held 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 20, 2023 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 533 Second St. in Natchitoches, with Rev. Suzanne Wolfenbarger officiating.

Interment will follow at Springville Cemetery, Route 71, Coushatta, LA. In lieu of visitation a luncheon will be held in the Fellowship Hall at the church on Sunday, June 4, 2023 directly after the 10:30 a.m. service.

Born and raised in Marion, Ohio. He was preceded in death by his parents John and Helen Akinson Cocherl, daughter Susan Gayle, son John William, and brother Jack. He is survived by his wife Lillian and daughter DeborahLee both of Natchitoches, a sister Susan Seas, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He graduated from Marion Harding High School in 1946, and spent 6 ½ years in the USAF. During this service he was a Weather Observer at the Atom Bomb Test on Eniwetok Atoll in 1948, and during long range missile testing in the Bahama Islands. He met his wife Lillian Babers while stationed at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, LA and was married on July 20, 1950.

After leaving the Air Force he attended a technical school in Chicago, IL. He was employed in Ohio and New Jersey in the high pressure hydraulics field. While living in New Jersey he traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and the West Indies.

Upon retirement to Natchitoches in 1993 he became an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church serving on the vestry numerous times and as treasure for a few years. He and his wife were instrumental in starting the intercessory prayer list in the Church bulletin. He was a member of the International Order of St Luke the Physician, an interdenominational Christian order of healing since 1984. He was a volunteer at the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center for 14 years.

In lieu of flowers a donation may be made to Trinity Episcopal Church Triple R fund (Repair, Restore, Replace) or a charity of your choice.