Birth date: Jan 31, 1927 Death date: Jan 11, 2021
Maurice Henry Cockrell passed away peacefully January 11, 2021 in Garland, TX. He was born January 31, 1927 in Ponca City, OK. After graduating high school he and his parents moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1945, where he started work Read Obituary
Maurice was one of my very favorite people. We talked on the phone a lot & he always called with any questions he had about the church. He & Doris were always willing to participate in any endeavor that you faced them with. They helped with numerous garage sales & fund raising projects for my Altursa Group and everyone loved them. He will certainly be remembered with grateful hearts.
Helen Partain
I grew up with Derek and spent a lot of time at the Cockrell household. Mr. Cockrell was an amazing dad and father figure. Rest in peace sir....you will be missed.
Denise K. Stoltzfus-Frye
What can I say about Maurice?
He was a great guy and a special friend! My husband Richard and I had the greatest respect for Maurice, and we send our deepest sympathies to Doris and the family. Thank you for asking me to help with the music for his service today. It’s my honor and I thank Scott Denton for his help with the recordings. We all loved Maurice!
I’ve been serving at Monica Park for a long time now and Maurice has been there from the very beginning. He has been so supportive to me and shared in so much music with us at church. Being trained in music, He participated in the Chancel Choir with his beautiful bass voice and he played in the Hand Bell Choir, for years. Most recently He played piano/organ duets with me for the opening hymns of worship. That was special! Maurice loved church music but he liked to play secular music, too. His version of an old standard he played, called “Tenderly” was my favorite. And he played an impressive Christmas arrangement of “Sleigh-Ride”. I was amazed he played that so well, with such tricky finger techniques. I’ll never forget his style or his smile as he played it!
Something sweet to add about Maurice...his sensitivity... Maurice was emotional... he would often tell me about specific parts of performance or songs that he liked, and as he did his eyes would flood with tears as he explained why he was so touched by the music. That was sweet, it made my eyes swell up too! Like for me, Music mattered to Maurice. Especially his church music. Because it exemplifies faith and comforts us the most.
After times when Maurice suffered from long bouts of illness, His doctor would recommend that he continue to sing in the choir and play in worship as often as he could. The doc said it would lift his spirits and help him with his physical rehabilitation goals. Maurice told me privately, he feared he was getting “too old” to get up there in front of the congregation. I told him what I keep telling myself....”I understood, but it doesn’t really matter! He didn’t play like he was too old, and no one would care if he had to hang on to something to get up there! They just feel better listening to Gods music and seeing him hang in there, for the Lords sake! He was still making a difference!” Maurice was a man of faith with high values, and I think that gave him courage to keep trying. Those kind of thoughts and words help me keep trying, too!
Our prayers continue for Doris and her family now as they cling to the wonderful memories and values of Maurice. His faith and his life has certainly made a positive difference to us all. He will be greatly missed!
As Maurice would often close prayers in his own words, I close this note with, “In our Saviors love we pray, Amen”.
Rest well, and enjoy Heavens music, Maurice!
Tawny and Richard Kingsley
