Important Announcement from Cochrane Supply

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we announce the passing of Cochrane Supply’s founder, Don Cochrane, Sr.

Don passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 25th at the age of 84, and there aren't strong enough words to express the loss that is felt by his family, friends and everyone at Cochrane Supply.

Don Cochrane, Sr. was born on October 7th, 1934 in Sioux Falls, IA. He grew up in Minneapolis, MN and will proudly tell you the story about how he bought his family their first TV. He joined the army, studied at the University of Minnesota, and then in 1960, he got his first job at Honeywell working in their order department.

After a few years at Honeywell, Don moved up in the career chain to a marketing position where he worked with his advisor to create a trade line, which inevitably led to Don becoming interested in wholesale. Honeywell proceeded to send Don to sales school in 1965, and later that year, they transferred him from Minneapolis to Detroit where he worked as a salesman.

One of Don's customers at that time was a company called Magic Servant Manufacturing, which was owned by Earl Jackson. Don did a significant amount of business with Earl and they had lunch together every Wednesday afternoon. On one of those Wednesdays, Don casually looked at Earl and said, "You know, if I had the money, I'd start a wholesale business of my own."

Earl looked back at Don and replied, "I'll give you the money."

So in 1967, the year he also met his wife, Don made the pivotal decision to leave Honeywell... and he "started this little thing called Cochrane Supply." His vision? To make his customers successful. A goal that continues to be ingrained in the heart of Cochrane Supply.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Even after he retired in 2008, he visited the office often to continue to share his memories of the beginning, the trials and tribulations, the triumphs, and the wisdom...not to mention his wit. His pride and joyfulness were contagious—when you just met him, you felt as though you"ve known him for years.

It has been a blessing to watch Don’s dream that started more than 50 years ago grow and flourish into not just a business, but a story that will leave you beaming with pride.

A story that will be proudly carried on.

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