Wingville, Oregon
Annette Joy Grabner Cockram, 63, a longtime resident of the Wingville area, died May 16, 2001, at her home surrounded by many of her family, after a courageous 17-month battle with cancer.
Her graveside funeral will be Monday at 3 p.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor John Cockram of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Phoenix, Ariz., will officiate. Vault interment will follow.
Mrs. Cockram was born April 3, 1938, at Baker City to Kenneth and Norma White Grabner. She grew up in Ironside, going to school there until the eighth grade. She moved to Baker City in 1952, graduating from Baker High School in 1956. After graduating, she attended Oregon State University at Corvallis.
On June 29, 1958, she married her high school sweetheart, Fred Cockram. They moved back to Baker City and began their partnership in family and farming. Their work together created Mountain View Farms, specializing in dairy, beef and farming. She and Fred had four children. She found great joy in being a mother, and in these later years being a grandmother. She loved traveling, working in her yard and being a full partner in the ranch.
In 1991, Mrs. Cockram went to work for the Baker County Fair Board as the fair manager. She retired from the Fair Board in September of 2000.
Survivors include Fred, her husband of 42 years; daughters and sons-in-law, Michelle and Collin Kaseberg and their children, Jeff, Danny, Wade, Hannah, Evan and Walker, and Cherie and Craig Ward and their children, Morgan, Alyssa, and Calli, all of Baker City, Jeanne and Scott Mohr and their children, Kayla and Alexa, of Beaverton; a son, Daryl, and his children, Joelle, Kenny and Jamie, of Baker City; her sister, Janis Shields and her husband, Frank, of Boise; brothers-in-law and their wives, Freeman and Shirley Cockram of Vancouver, Wash., and John and Tonya Cockram of Phoenix; her mother-in-law, Berniece Cockram of Baker City; her aunt, Wanda Grabner of Ontario; cousins, Chuck and Nita Locey, Lois Elms, and Leila Andresen; and many nieces and nephews.
Mrs. Cockram was preceded in death by her parents and two grandchildren.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Annette Cockram Memorial Scholarship Fund with the Baker County 4-H Leaders Association, 2610 Grove St., or through the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, May 18, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor