Bonnie Joy Cochran

Bonnie Joy Cochran, 90, of North Mankato, MN passed away peacefully with her daughter by her side, on February 12, 2025 at Oak Terrace Assisted Living in North Mankato, MN. Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, June 6, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation from 10:00-11:00 a.m. both at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 525 Grant Avenue, North Mankato, MN. Burial will be on Saturday June 7, at 1:30 p.m. in the Newell Cemetery, Newell, Iowa. Livestream of the service will be available at www.mankatomortuary.com.

Bonnie Joy Larsen was born April 6, 1934, to Harry & Ella Larsen at their farm home near Varina, Iowa. She graduated from Varina Consolidated High School on May 17, 1951. After graduating she worked at Clough Auto Parts in Storm Lake, IA as a bookkeeper.

She married Francis Meyer on July 27, 1953 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Storm Lake, Iowa. They lived and worked on the Meyer family farm north of Truesdale, Iowa. They were blessed with 5 children: Lowell, Douglas, Randall, Lori & Jeffrey.

After the children were older, she worked as a waitress at the 3 & 71 Truck Stop near Truesdale, and later in the office at Peterson Motors in Storm Lake, IA. Francis passed away on May 9, 1980 after a battle with cancer.

Bonnie married Dan Cochran and moved to Creston, IA. She worked for the ISU Extension Service for Rural Families, then later at Kmart in Creston as a bookkeeper and also at the Windrow Restaurant in Creston as a server/hostess. Dan died November 12, 1996.

Bonnie moved to Mankato, MN on September 26, 1998 to live with her daughter, Lori. She worked for Kmart in Mankato as a bookkeeper, and then later at Panera Bread as a server. Bonnie enjoyed gardening and canning, helping her neighbors, and helping to prepare food to feed Lori’s MSU softball team. She also liked going up north with her son Lowell & his family for summer fishing trips. She enjoyed having her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids visit her. Bonnie also enjoyed her close friends at Oak Terrace and always being an advocate and caregiver for them. With declining health, Bonnie moved into Oak Terrace Assisted Living in North Mankato on May 15, 2019 and lived there until her death.

She is survived by her children: Dr. Lowell Meyer (Wendy) of Austin, MN; Doug Meyer (Linda) of Urbandale, IA; Randy Meyer (Sherri) of Rogers, AR; Lori Meyer of Mankato, MN; Jeff Meyer of Lake Mills, IA.; 9 grandchildren;17 great-grandchildren; sisters: Sandra Rix of Newell, IA and Karen Taylor of Des Moines, IA.

She was preceded in death by both husbands, her parents, daughter-in-law Vickie Meyer, and her sister Janice Johnson of Manson, IA.

The family would like to thank the Oak Terrace Assisted Living staff, Mayo Hospice staff, St. Croix Hospice staff for the care they provided.