Dr. Edward Leo Cochran, Jr.

Dr. Edward Leo Cochran, Jr.-scientist, public servant, and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather-died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, November 16, 2025. Dr. Cochran was a faithful servant of Christ and longtime member of St. Louis Catholic Church in Clarksville. Throughout his life, his natural curiosity and a keen mind drove him to solve vexing challenges in physical chemistry and public policy, where he worked on behalf of public education, ethics, equality, and good government.

Born on March 18, 1929, in Jarrettsville, Harford County, Ed and his brother Donald trekked daily to a one-room school where his cousins made up the majority the young students. After attending Bel Air High School, he graduated from Loyola College in 1949 at age 20, earned his Masters at Duquesne, and received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame (1952). At Notre Dame he met his wife Catherine Joan Flanagan, a graduate student at nearby St. Mary's College. They married and moved to Howard County in 1958 when Ed began his research at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Ed and Joan were married for more than 62 years until her passing in 2015. They made their home at "Holly Hill," an 1850s farmhouse on ten acres in Clarksville that became the joyful hub of a growing family of six children. He adored his grandchildren and great grandchildren, never missing their birthdays; and he delighted in hosting them all for Easter egg hunts and Thanksgiving dinners. To them, he was Pop pop-steady, principled, affectionate, and fun.

Drawn by nature to fundamental discovery, Dr. Cochran focused his research at APL on chemical kinetics, particularly the study of free radicals. With colleagues, Ed published more than 30 scientific papers and spoke at universities in the U.S. and Europe, even traveling to Russia during the Cold War.

Ed was appointed to the Howard County Board of Education in 1964, where he quickly worked with local civil rights leaders to integrate the public schools--not over a period of years, but immediately. While on the Board, Ed also helped found the Howard Community College, later serving on its Board of Trustees from 1985 to 1991.

Ed was elected to the Howard County Council in 1968 and reelected in 1970, where he modernized county laws, including sponsoring the act creating a Human Relations Commission to extend equality beyond education. He championed financial disclosure for officials, strengthened consumer affairs, helped create a Zoning Board, and sponsored the county's first no smoking and sign laws.

In 1974, voters elected him County Executive. His administration formed the agencies for Citizen Services, Aging, and Consumer Affairs. He also introduced an act establishing the Office of Human Rights and made discrimination on the basis of race, creed, religion, physical or mental handicap, color, sex, national origin, age, occupation, marital status, political opinion, sexual orientation, and personal appearance illegal across housing, employment, law enforcement, public accommodations, financing, and more-a comprehensive statement of local values that was ahead of its time and that still guides county practice.

In 1979, after his term as County Executive, Ed returned to APL as the Director of External Relations. He also continued serving on boards for the Howard Community College, the Columbia Foundation, Howard County Parks, the Board of Appeals, and the Rotary Club of Columbia Town Center. He especially enjoyed serving as a weekly volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels.

Beginning in 1987, flying offered Ed yet another and different set of physics experiments and a new kind of horizon. At the Haysfield grass airstrip in Clarksville, he earned both his instrument rating and commercial certificate, logging 1,500+ hours as pilot in command. He flew modest Cessnas with quiet joy to Oshkosh, Boston, the Outer Banks, and, on one long trip, the Bahamas.

Across six decades, Ed also worked nights and weekends to rebuild and maintain the old family farmhouse and its outbuildings. In the early years, horses and ponies were a constant presence, beginning with a Shetland foal named Jingles brought home in the back seat of his sedan. In later years, he was pleased to share the property with families of wild turkeys, foxes, raccoons and deer, in addition to a catalog of woodpeckers, blue birds and other songbirds.

Ed was dedicated to the hard work of solving problems. His Catholic faith and his belief in scientific methods were complementary comforts that informed his life's work in laboratories and council chambers, around kitchen tables and even in small planes over the Chesapeake Bay. His dedication to public service, sense of fairness, and a principled approach to problem solving continues to be reflected in his friends and family.

Dr. Cochran is survived by his brother, Donald; and by his six children: Edward L. Cochran III (Andrea), William Cochran (Teresa), Mark Cochran (Deirdre), Mary Catherine Cochran, Courtney Watson (Richard), and Christopher Cochran (Laura). He is also survived by 23 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.

The family welcomes all who knew and loved him to join in honoring his remarkable life.

Funeral Mass

Friday, November 21 · 2:00 p.m.

Shrine of St. Anthony

12290 Folly Quarter Road

Ellicott City, Maryland



Celebration of Life

Saturday, November 22

Merriweather LakeHouse Hotel

10209 Wincopin Circle

Columbia, Maryland

12:00-1:00 p.m. Reception

1:00-2:00 p.m. Remarks & Remembrances

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:

Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland:

https://mealsonwheelsmd.org/give/honor-memorial-contribution/

Howard Community College Educational Foundation:

https://commerce.cashnet.com/cashnetg/static/storefront/howarddev/catalog/DONATE

Free Bikes 4 Kidz (FB4K Maryland):

https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/3807961