[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 38 (Wednesday, April 6, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S3275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM McWHORTER COCHRANE

 Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, North Carolina lost a loyal son and 
a devoted public servant when William McWhorter Cochrane died in 
Charlotte at the end of December. Bill dearly loved his home State and 
was often referred to as ``North Carolina's third Senator.'' He was a 
man of great knowledge from whom I learned so much over the span of 
many years, and I feel certain that folks who knew him agree that his 
kindness was abundant and his accomplishments were endless.
  Bill attended the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, earning a 
bachelor's degree in journalism in 1938 and a law degree in 1941. Upon 
graduation, he served as the assistant director of the UNC Institute of 
Government. In 1941, he joined the U.S. Naval Reserve and in 1942, he 
was called to active duty and served aboard the minesweeper USS Improve 
off the Mediterranean coast. He then returned to the UNC Institute of 
Government. In 1950, he earned an advanced law degree from Yale 
University and became an associate research professor of public law and 
government at UNC.
  In 1954, when Kerr Scott was elected to the Senate, Bill moved to 
Washington and served as Senator Scott's executive secretary and legal 
counsel until the Senator's death in 1957. Bill always insisted that he 
intended to return to North Carolina, having originally told Senator 
Scott that he would stay for only one year. But, B. Everett Jordan, 
appointed as Scott's successor, urged Bill to stay on in Washington. He 
did so and served as Senator Jordan's administrative assistant for the 
next 14 years.
  Through the years, countless North Carolinians made their way to the 
Russell Building. Those seeking information, advice or a job, found 
Bill in his office piled high with documents, copies of the 
Congressional Record, mementos of presidential inaugurations, and 
thousands of index cards. At the service for Bill in Chapel Hill, many 
of those who spoke told of the wise counsel Bill provided and of his 
help in finding a position here in Washington. I count myself among 
those when, as a young woman, I first came to Washington and received 
Bill's advice and counsel.
  During the summer of 1960, I worked in Senator Jordan's office as a 
summer employee. Knowing that first-hand historical experiences are 
much treasured by young people, Bill helped me get a front-row ticket 
to my first national campaign. Because of Bill, I was able to join 
onboard Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Lyndon B. Johnson's 
whistle stop tour of the South.
  Although my staunchly Republican father was concerned about my riding 
through the South, especially through my hometown on LBJ's train, I 
knew Bill was giving me, this political science major, an unmatchable 
learning experience and I was right. I took in every single moment, 
watching and learning as the Johnson campaign rolled along all over the 
South and through my hometown of Salisbury, NC.
  On the train I met both LBJ and his gracious wife, Lady Bird. Those 
exciting days on the LBJ express were a blur of cheering crowds, 
speeches and yellow roses that surely ignited my already burning 
interest in politics. I will forever be grateful to Bill for that 
experience.
  Senator Jordan chaired the Senate Rules Committee for many years, but 
when he lost his Senate seat in 1972, Bill was appointed staff director 
and majority counsel of the committee. He held that position from 1972-
80; from 1981-86 he was minority staff director to the committee, and 
from 1987 to 1994 he served as senior advisor. For 20 years he was 
staff director of the Joint Committee on Presidential Inaugurals, 
directing the inaugurations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, 
and Ronald Reagan.
  For 30 years he served on the staff of the Joint Committee on the 
Library, and in 1995, James Billington the Librarian of Congress, named 
Bill honorary historical consultant to the Library of Congress. Dr. 
Billington said of Bill's service to the library, ``Bill Cochrane was 
one of the most knowledgeable, wise and devoted public servants I have 
had the pleasure of knowing. In a career that spanned three decades, as 
the senior staffer, institutional memory, and conscience of the Joint 
Committee on the Library and the Senate Committee on Rules and 
Administration, Bill was involved in every major library initiative, 
including the construction of the Madison Building, the renovation of 
the Jefferson and Adams Buildings, and an architect of smooth 
transitions from one Librarian of Congress to the next. His affection 
for the library and his long record of support for its mission and 
programs were unparalleled and will be long remembered.''
  Bill's long and valued service to this body and to his home State 
speak to a remarkable dedication and devotion for which Bill was 
admired and respected by all those who knew him. It is fitting that at 
this time, we in the Senate recognize and remember his service. We will 
surely miss this wise and caring man, wearing his bow tie and smoking 
his pipe.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Shirley, and sons, 
William Daniel Cochrane and Thomas McWhorter Cochrane.

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