Capitol hosts funeral of Thad Cochran today
Published 6:32 am Monday, June 3, 2019
The body of the late former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran lies in state during a public visitation at the Robert C. Khayat Law Center at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. on Sunday, June 2, 2019. Cochran died on Thursday in Oxford. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
The body of the late former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran lies in state during a public visitation at the Robert C. Khayat Law Center at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. on Sunday, June 2, 2019. Cochran died on Thursday in Oxford. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
The body of former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran lies in state in front of a portrait of the senator, at the Robert C. Khayat Law Center at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. on Sunday, June 2, 2019. Cochran died on Thursday in Oxford. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Fletcher Moorman, left, hugs Kay Webber Cochran, widow of the late former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran, during a public visitation at the Robert C. Khayat Law Center at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss. on Sunday, June 2, 2019. Cochran died on Thursday in Oxford. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Flags in Mississippi are flying at half-staff to honor a Republican former U.S. senator who brought billions of dollars to the state.
The first of two funeral services for Thad Cochran is taking place Monday at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson. The second is on Tuesday at a church in the city.
Cochran was 81 when he died Thursday in a veterans’ nursing home in Oxford, Mississippi.
He was the 10th longest-serving U.S. senator in history.
Cochran was elected to the U.S. House in 1972 and to the Senate in 1978, wielding power for several years as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He retired in April 2018.
Cochran was dubbed the “Quiet Persuader” because of his gentlemanly demeanor. He was also known for working across party lines.
