Judicial referee Susan Cochrane, who channeled her difficulties into life s work of compassion, dies at 65 February 27, 2021 4:32pm Text size Copy shortlink:
Susan Cochrane channeled her own painful experiences as the child of a brutal divorce, violence and alcoholism into a career of uncommon compassion as a legal advocate for children and the indigent, including an 18-year stretch as a family court referee in Hennepin County.
Beginning in 2002, Cochrane also battled cancer. She died of breast cancer Feb. 13 at home in Minneapolis, surrounded by family members, including her husband, Clair Cole, an assistant Minneapolis city attorney; three grown sons, Lee, Tom and Ben Cochrane-Cole; and her brother, Mick Cochrane of Kenmore, N.Y. She was 65.