William Leslie Cochrane

William “Bill” Leslie Cochrane, 77, of Eden Prairie, passed away peacefully on May 31, 2024, with his family by his side.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Susan, and parents, Yvonne and Leslie. He is survived by his brother Patrick D. Cochrane (RaeAnn); his children, Sarah Hornig, Anne Fineran (Shane), William (Sherry), and Patrick; and his grandchildren, Lainey and Cate Hornig, Grace and Carrick Fineran, Camilla, Barrett, and Creighton Cochrane, and Rylen Bannon.

Bill was more brilliant than anything else. He was grounded, patient, compassionate, sound, and empathic. He grew up in Richfield, attending Richfield High School. That is where he fell in love with his bride, Susan, and often referred to her as the “girl on the bus with the navy-blue coat and gold buttons.” He never looked back. Bill attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he earned a degree in industrial engineering. He often hitchhiked back home for visits.

After graduation, Bill knew his draft card for Vietnam was coming. After starting his career with Ford and much deliberation with Susan, he decided to enlist.

He was eventually assigned to a remote firebase known as Ripcord. On the morning of July 1, 1970, his battalion was attacked, and during the second barrage of mortar fire, he was almost fatally injured with a multitude of shrapnel wounds to his body as he was tending to heavy artillery equipment he managed.

Bill was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, among other medals of valor, including a second Purple Heart from an earlier injury. Once his convalescence was concluded and he was back in the States, he bought a car, got married, and reported back to his job at Ford. This all happened in a week!

Bill spent his entire career at Ford Motor Company, retiring as a Midwest fleet manager. His work in heavy trucking sales took his family from Minneapolis to St. Louis and Detroit. In 1991, he brought the family back home to the state he loved.

After retirement, he gave countless hours to the Minneapolis chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the VA hospital. He helped many other veterans navigate the system and was an advocate for all military personnel.

As a child, his devout passion for cars was apparent. He was able to identify makes and models of cars based on exhaust tones, hubcaps, and subtle body lines. There was not a car in the world he wasn’t interested in or didn’t have some knowledge of that was unknown to the masses. His most prized possession was his 1966 Shelby Mustang GT350, which gave him immense pleasure and solace.

Bill had the gift of gab and often told very long stories and gave elaborate opinions. This was one of his greatest gifts. Bill was a fantastic father and grandfather. He worked very hard, long hours (often away from home on the road) to provide his children with many things others could not afford.

In his later years, as a recent widower, he devoted much of his time to being as present as he could for his children, and especially for his grandchildren, when they were very young and school-aged.

Bill was a treasure to all. His worldly absence will be sorely missed by his children, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and friends. Rest in peace, Dad.

Services will be held at Pax Christi in Eden Prairie on June 26, starting at 10 a.m. Gravesite honors will be held at Fort Snelling at 1:30 p.m. A celebration of life will take place at Redstone in Eden Prairie from 2 to 6 p.m. Donations can be made to the Magnus Veterans Foundation.