Mary Larlene (Cochrum) Farrar, 99, was born on December 11, 1920, in Limestone County, Texas, to Teddy and Martha Jane Cochrum. She passed away on June 11, 2020 in Greenville, Texas, where she had resided for the last 16 years. Graveside services will be held at 10 am, Saturday, June 13, 2020 in Waco, Texas at Rosemound Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Coker-Mathews Funeral Home.
Mary Larlene (“Larlene”) was one of three children born to the Cochrum family. In 1939, Larlene was graduated from Groesbeck High School.
In 1940, Larlene married Felix Nelson Thetford, also of Limestone County. Due to a childhood gun accident, Nelson was unable to serve in the military during World War II. During the war, Larlene and Nelson moved to McLennan County, where Nelson worked for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. In 1947, they purchased a farm at Axtell, Texas (east of Waco). In 1942, Larlene had given birth to Sandra Ann Thetford and, in 1945, to Felix Nelson Thetford, Jr. In 1957, Nelson died of Hodgins Disease.
In 1961, Larlene married Parnell Farrar, also of the Axtell community. Larlene was active in Axtell community affairs. Among other things, she served on the first board of directors the local water supply corporation, she served as president of the PTA; she was involved in the March of Dimes effort. She and Parnell were active leaders in the Axtell Baptist Church. From 1955 until her retirement in 1989, Larlene was an employee of Texas Consumer Life Insurance Company, a commercial insurance agency in Waco.
Larlene was preceded in death by her first husband Nelson (1957) and her second husband, Parnell (2016). She was the last living of the three Cochrum children, which included her sister Ludell Pelton and her brother Travis Cochrum. Larlene is survived by her children, Sandra and Felix; grandchildren Jeff Willingham and his wife Cindy, Ann Akins, Robert Thetford and his wife Staci, and two great-granddaughters, Laura Marie Thetford and Julia Thrasher Thetford.
The family gratefully acknowledges the loving care and assistance provided by Becky Moctezuma, Jennifer Williamson, and the nurses and staff at The Briarcliff Health Center in Greenville, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made to a favorite charity.
