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By Christina [email protected]

Bud Cochran used to walk more than a mile to see his sweetheart Lor-raine back when they were students at Puyallup High School in the late 1930s. With no car and a girlfriend

that lived on the opposite side of town, the trek became a familiar path for the love-struck Bud.

“It didn’t seem far at all,” he said. “I was just smitten.”

Seven decades later, the two longtime Issaquah residents are still together, having celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary May 2. Sitting in their cozy ranch-style home situated next to Issaquah High School, Bud, 90, and Lorraine, 88, fondly reminisced about their eventful 70 years together.

Accept things, have faithThe Cochrans married in 1942, just after

graduation. The newlyweds didn’t have much time to get comfortable as Bud joined the Army soon after. He spent time stationed in New Guinea, but luckily, he didn’t get in on any of the fighting. Still, the time away from Lorraine was difficult.

At home, Lorraine worked, saved money, wrote letters and sent care packages to Bud when she could.

“It was hard but a lot of women were in the same boat,” Lorraine said of being away from Bud. “You just accept it and have faith that things will be OK.”

After four years in the Army, nearly two of which were spent away, Bud returned home.

With assistance from the GI Bill, he attended a trade school to learn about watch repair. It was a 24-month program, but it took him only 18 months to complete. Bud had found his passion.

Long hoursThat passion that would ultimately relocate

the growing family to Issaquah in 1959, when the Cochrans purchased a jewelry store on Front Street. With three young children and a fourth on the way, it was quite the adjustment as the couple worked to maintain the store.

Bud would spend hours hunched over his workstation, honing his watch repair skills at the shop. He worked late nights, consumed with the craft to the point where it affected his health. Lorraine, who mostly stayed home with the children, the youngest of which was born with developmental disabilities, was con-cerned and frustrated with Bud’s long hours.

“I got a little impatient with Bud because he was working so late,” Lorraine said.

After 10 years of ownership, the Cochrans sold the jewelry store.

“I really like watch repair, but that wasn’t where the money was,” Bud said.

By then, the Cochrans had grown quite fond of Issaquah. The family had no plans to leave even after the store sold.

“Issaquah was just a safe, little town and a good place to raise our four kids, too,” Lor-raine said.

Not always easyOnce the store was sold, Bud and Lorraine

worked for the Issaquah School District for several years. Lorraine worked part time at

a school cafeteria, while Bud worked as a groundskeeper and custodian for 13 years, until he retired in 1984.

Over seven decades of marriage, it wasn’t always easy. The two struggled with the jewelry shop and Bud’s long hours. They were also faced with the difficult task of saying

COMMUNITYs s

The Issaquah Press

Section

BWednesday

August 8, 2012

Amateur shutterbugs invited to photo contest

The Issaquah Press an-nounces its annual photo contest, open to all amateur shutterbugs.

As in the past, contest photos can fall into one of three categories: people, scenic and animals. Entries will be weighed on the basis of originality, composition, lighting and the strength of the photo’s identification with Issaquah.

Photographers are in-vited to submit their entries by email, in JPEG format, to [email protected]. You also can mail an 8-by-10 print to Amateur Photo Contest, 45 Front St. S., Issaquah, WA 98027.

With all entries, include your name, address, a phone number and any story behind the photo. The entry limit is three entries per photographer. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 12.

Determined by newspa-per staff, winners will be announced in the Sept. 7 edition of The Press.

All admissions come with permission to be reproduced, with a photo credit, in any publication of The Press.

Jubilee Farms hosts Autism Day WA

The 12th annual Autism Day WA is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 11 at Jubilee Farms, 229 W. Snoqualmie River Road N.E., Carnation.

The free event for fami-lies touched by autism will give families and caretak-ers an opportunity to relax in the peaceful surround-ings of an actual working farm. The day has been designed as an all-day family activity in a relaxed setting with an assortment of activities for children.

A list of volunteer oppor-tunities is available at www.autismdaywa.org. Learn more about donations or participation by contacting Lynne Banki at [email protected] or 802-7420.

Bicycle drive donations sought for African students

Olympia-based Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care and Seattle-headquartered PCC Natural Markets have teamed up for Bicycles for Education.

PCC Issaquah is hosting a bike drive, accepting func-tioning, adult-sized used bicycles from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1810 12th Ave. N.W. The bicycles will then be distributed to disadvantaged teens in Africa for transpor-tation to and from school.

Learn more at www.pcc- naturalmarkets.com or www.empowermentalliance.org. Learn about volunteer opportunities by contact-ing Olowo-n’djo Tchala at 360-866-0080, ext. 204, or [email protected].

By Lillian [email protected]

If you ask the Rev. Mark Meredith if he is a fan of “churchliness” the answer is “no.”

“I hate churchliness,” he said. He defines the term as being

church-bound and thinking that within the four walls of a church is where God is most active.

“We gather on Sunday so we can have our batteries charged so that we can really be about God all week,” he said.

While he has only been in Sam-mamish for a few weeks and is still looking for a house to buy, Meredith has already started his new post as lead pastor of Pine Lake Covenant Church. Keeping the lessons of Christianity present in everyday life has been some-thing that has appealed to Mer-edith since he first committed to the faith in his mid-20s. That was nearly three decades ago, when he was living on Mercer Island and just getting started as owner of a small variety store.

“I felt like that was my call-

ing, to experience God in the business world and find his light there,” he said. “This is my big thing, helping people connect their faith to their everyday life.”

Shortly after joining the evan-gelical denomination, Meredith

met his future wife, Patty. The two were later married in the same Mercer Island church where they met.

Still a small business owner, Meredith took a break in 1990 to attend seminary at Regent Col-

lege in Vancouver, B.C. “I didn’t feel called to be a pas-

tor,” he said. “I just felt ‘I want to know more and grow more.’”

Seventeen years after he earned his economics degree from the University of Washington, Mere-dith graduated from college again in 1993 with a master’s of Chris-tian studies in applied theology. By that time, he and Patty Meredith had three small children — Aaron, Jesse and Sam. The family moved back to Mark Meredith’s home-town of Olympia, where he contin-ued to run his growing business, Meredith Stores.

With the line between his spiritual life and work life already blurred it didn’t seem like that big of a leap, Meredith said, when he decided to become the founding pastor at Community Covenant Church in Eagle River, Alaska.

“I was getting tired of my busi-ness,” he said, adding that he did a lot of reflection. “Is this really what I want? Is this what I am meant to do?”

So in 1995, the family of five left the Puget Sound region for Eagle River, a neighboring town

of Anchorage. For Meredith, a fan of the outdoors and fly-fish-ing in particular, the new loca-tion was a good fit. But it wasn’t all a smooth transition. With nearly 2,000 miles between them and the rest of their family, it was cold, dark and a hard place to live, he said. But, he added, there were a lot of needs and a lot of opportunities for min-istry. In the 17 years he was at the helm, the congregation that started with just 30 people grew to more than 1,000.

“I love watching people ex-perience the person of Christ and then watch the change that comes to their life as a result. It

“I tell her sometimes that I wish her folks could come

back and see what a good job they’ve done with Lorraine. I

think they’d be really proud.” — Bud Cochran

“I used to say a lot that Bud’s mother spoiled his father terribly and then I said, ‘What am I talking about? I’ve done the same to him.’” — Lorraine Cochran

PLATINUM PALSPLATINUM PALSHigh school sweethearts celebrate 70 years of marriage

CONTRIBUTED

Lorraine and Bud Cochran stand at the altar of All Saints Catholic Church in Puyallup for their 1942 wedding.

Pastor leaves Alaska for Pine Lake church

BY GREG FARRAR

Mark Meredith is the new lead pastor for Pine Lake Covenant Church in Sammamish.

B1

See ANNIVERSARY, Page B6

See PASTOR, Page B6

“I didn’t feel called to be a pastor. I just felt ‘I want to know more and grow more.’”— Rev. Mark MeredithLead pastor of Pine Lake Covenant Church

Lorraine and Bud Cochran

enjoy summer from the

wicker patio swing

at their home near

Issaquah High

School.

BY GREG FARRAR

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