It was obvious the late Jim Cochran cared for his home community of Marshall County. It showed in the care he took over a career of chronicling its comings and goings for The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register that spanned more than 70 years.

Cochran made telling the stories that needed told in Marshall County his life’s work, from his decades stationed at the Journal office in Moundsville to the years after his retirement from full-time work spent authoring the “Marshall Memo,” a weekly column dedicated to the news of Marshall County.

He always tried his hardest to reach every corner of the county in his job. Yes, he was a Moundsville High School graduate and was enshrined on the John Marshall High School Wall of Fame, but his daughter Melinda Barrett told the story of the many times she’d accompany him to a Cameron High School sporting event.

“He felt Cameron was sometimes overlooked and he wanted to make sure they were in the news, too,” she said.

The multitude of Marshall County movers and shakers who have paid their respects to Cochran have used many words to describe him: a fixture, a friend, a professional. They all use the same word when they talk about him — reporter.

Even seven decades into his work, he could still be found poking his head into several municipal and county offices looking for the latest information. And when he wasn’t knocking on doors, officials would often hear his voice on the other side of the phone.

“We have certainly lost a champion of Moundsville, and probably the last old fashioned reporter of our time,” Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy said.

Even as journalism moves toward the future, Cochran’s old-school sensibilities made him beloved in Marshall County.

Rest in peace, Jim, and thank you for your decades of devotion to your home.