Former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran’s Former Chief of Staff Reflects on His Life and Legacy

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Friends and family reflected on the life of former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran at his visitation in Oxford on Sunday.

His name is nationally and globally known.

The Republican U.S. Senator represented Mississippi for 45 years.

Cochran died at 81-years old on Thursday, at a Veterans’ Nursing Home in Oxford.

Cochran’s former Chief of Staff, Keith Heard was at his home in Columbus, when he got the call.

Heard started working with Cochran once he was out of college, kicking off what ended up being a long-time friendship.

He says he is going to remember Cochran as one of the finest people he has ever been associated with.

“He was tough and he was strong and he would take a position and he wouldn’t bend.
That’s what I remember most about him. He was kind. He was gentle, but he was always tough and he got the job done.”

“He was a good Republican. He did his job. He worked with the party to get things done, but he always represented Mississippi and all of them and that was the thing that meant the most to me and he loved the institution of the United States Senate. The way the Forefathers built it and he loved the tradition and history and the importance of the most important, deliberative government body in the world.”

There will be two funerals taking place this week to mourn the life and legacy of former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran.

One funeral will be Monday at 11, in Jackson at the State Capitol.

The other will be Tuesday at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson.