Church Point, La. A Graveside Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Thursday, July 30, 2015 at the New Union Baptist Church Cemetery in Tullos, La for Melba Jean Cockerham, 81. Ms. Cockerham, a native of Tullos and currently a resident of Church Point, died Sunday evening, July 26 at her residence. Interment will immediately follow the service.
Survivors include her daughters, Brenda Chiasson and husband Marlow of Luling, LA and Joey Taylor of Church Point; her stepsons, William T. Davis and wife Michelle of Lafayette, LA and Michael Davis and wife Chella of Stockbridge, GA; her grandchildren, April Chiasson of Concord, NC and Jessica Wood of Houston, TX, Jordan, Brant and Chelsie Davis of Lafayette and Mathew and Cecelia Davis of Stockbridge; her great-grandchildren, Jackson, Henri and Aidan Davis; her siblings, Mildred Carter and Judy, Larry, Jerry and J.W. Cockerham and her very special dogs, "Sam" and "Beaux".
She was preceded in death by her parents, Isaac and Artilda Golden Cockerham and two brothers, Earl and Jimmy Cockerham.
The family requested that visiting hours be observed at Guidry Funeral Home from 3:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, July 29.
Melba Jean Cockerham grew up on a farm in Tullos. After finishing high school in LaSalle Parish, Jean began her career in retail sales at Sears in Alexandria, LA and worked for Sears in Clovis, NM and Houston. After moving to Georgia, this hard-working woman decided she wanted more education, so she attended Georgia State University where she earned both a BA and a Masters degree in Education. She then taught English at both high school and college levels. Always the entrepreneur, Jean became half-owner of a home construction company and sole owner of Oil Exchange in Stockbridge. Church Point became her hometown in 2003, where she enjoyed all of Nature's beauty-feeding her birds, watching the butterflies that inhabited her flowerbeds and feeding any cat that showed up at her door. With her precious Bible always within reach, this lady lived her life according to the Word.
Arrangements are being handled by Guidry Funeral Home, Inc.; 219 N. Broadway, Church Point, La.