Kent W. Cockson died on April 23, 2022 of complications from heart disease. He was 74.
Cockson was retired after a 42-year career in newspaper newsrooms as a reporter, a copy editor and 10 of those years as a newsroom senior editor. His work sites included the Daily Independent in Grand Island, Nebraska; the News Journal in Pensacola, Gannett News Service in Tallahassee, and Florida TODAY in Melbourne, Florida.; USA Today in Washington; the American in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; the Press-Register in Mobile, and Gulf Coast Newspapers in Baldwin County, Alabama; the Times in Gainesville, Georgia and the Morning News in Savannah, Georgia.
Born in May 1947 and raised on a 480-acre farm northeast of Columbus, Nebraska, Cockson attended District 23 country school through 4th grade. In 1957 after his parents lost almost everything because of a prolonged drought, the Cockson family then moved to Audubon, Iowa. Three years later, they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where Cockson graduated in 1965 from Archbishop Ryan Memorial High School.
In January 1970, Cockson graduated with a bachelor’s degree and a Certificate of Achievement in newspaper journalism from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, where he earned a U.S. Army commission as a 2nd lieutenant. That was immediately followed by 11 months as a platoon leader in an armored-tank company at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The following December, Cockson completed two weeks of Jungle Warfare Training in the Republic of Panama, then was flown to Nha Trang, South Vietnam, where he served for nearly 11 months in a support role at First Field Force Vietnam headquarters.
During his newspaper career, Cockson twice lectured for newsroom professionals at the American Press Institute in Reston, Virginia. He also was a substitute teacher for more than 10 years in Baldwin County, Alabama public schools.
Over the years, Cockson earned many awards, including the Bronze Star conferred by the U.S. Army and the Cross of Gallantry conferred by the Republic of Vietnam, both in 1971; the National Public Service/Lifesaving Award (1979) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for his Pensacola News Journal newsroom staff’s work before, during and after Hurricane Frederic; being selected among the “top 10 small newspapers in America” (1990) while he was executive editor at The Times in Gainesville, Gerogia; and the Pershing Rifles National Commander’s Award while serving as an Army ROTC cadet during college.
He was a member of several organizations over the years, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Knights of Columbus, Sigma Delta Chi journalism honorary, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the South Baldwin Farmers Club, and Rho Rho Rho, an unofficial off-campus fraternity at the University of Nebraska.
Cockson enjoyed working with youngsters of all ages, road trips with his family, camping, hiking, playing his 12-string acoustic guitar, deep-sea fishing, duffer golf and cooking.
He was the son of the late Ethel M. and Arthur T. Cockson, of Omaha. His older brother, Craig, also of Omaha, died in 2016.
Cockson is survived by his wife, Sylvia (Staton) Cockson, of Foley, Alabama; four sons, Aaron Cockson of Springfield, Virginia, Jonas Cockson and Zak Cockson (Monica Boyett), Foley, Alabama and Jon Cockson (Tracy Curtice) of McKinney, Texas; grandchildren Vanessa, Thad, Julie and Lesley; three brothers, Mark Cockson of St. Louis, Missouri, Dwight Cockson (Sandy) of Ballwin, Missouri, and Scot Cockson (Carla) of Karnes City, Texas; sister, Denise (Cockson) Ott of Fredericksburg, Virginia; numerous nephews, nieces and other relatives.
Visitation was held at 9:00 a.m., Thursday, April 28, 2022 at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Mass of Christian Burial followed at the church
Graveside services will be 10 a.m., Friday, April 29, 2022 at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort.
The family prefers for donations be made to the Disabled American Veterans and the Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
