Ralph David Cockrum, age 79, son of Oren and Desdamona (Graham) Cockrum was born October 17th, 1943 in Mexico, MO. He passed away on November 5th, 2022 at Mercy Hospital, Springfield, MO.
Ralph was preceded in death by his parents; his older brother, Richard Cockrum and infant brother, Robert Cockrum.
Ralph loved God, his family, and farming, in that order. Ralph lived his life in a Christ like way, following God, spreading his faith and the gospel to everyone that he met and putting God first. He truly lived his life in a way that honored the father, faithful, kind, compassionate, humble, giving and loving. Ralph saw the good in everyone he met, even when they didn’t see it in themselves. Ralph had a strong work ethic. He taught so many of us not only to work hard, but to work cheerfully, honestly and with a smile. Every job and task that Ralph completed was done to his absolute best, with fairness and joy.
Ralph was known for having a tooth pick in his mouth and a smile on his face. His sweet tooth was well known in the family and sneaking ice cream into one of the many babies that he bounced on his knee. Ralph had to have equal parts of ice cream and his pie/cake/cookies. If he had some ice cream left over, he needed some more cake to even it out.
Ralph leaves a legacy of a devout Christian man, of a loving husband, father, Grandpa and Papa.
Ralph was survived by his wife, Kaye of Houston; five children his son, Wesley and wife, Debbie Cockrum of Fort Worth, TX, daughters, Janice and husband, Kirk Kettelkamp of Taylorville, IL, Carla and husband, Tom Hack of Cabool, Stacey and husband, Brad Rees of Houston, and Keri Edwards of Marshall, MO. Ralph has 13 grandchildren: Tim, Cori, Melissa, Kate, Ben, Madison, Paul, Megan, Abigail, Hannah, Will, Madison and Michael. Ralph has 13 great-grandchildren and one great, great grandchild.
