Cherice Amanda Cochrane

     "Reece"

  Born  May 15, 1981 ~  Heaven Bound March 21,2001

Happy Birthday my darling daughter. Today, you would
have been 25 and getting ready to start Medical
School.

Sorry to say your dad passed away and will be joining
you in heaven.

Luv

Mom, Camille, Michael, Grandma and Riley

This is usually how I spend my nights, crying myself to sleep, thinking of
my daughter, Cherice Amanda Cochrane, who died on March 21, 2001, in her sleep, from Meningitis at Tulane University. This year was rough for me.

You see she would have turned 21, graduated from Tulane and on her way to Medical School. 

 I have severe rheumatoid arthritis and she was suppose to take care of me.

Cherice was an exemplary student, a gifted child, an overachiever and a healthy young woman who did not smoke, do drugs or misused her body.

She was the epitome of excellence and everything she aspired to be she achieved it. She was a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient and the National Top Teens of America, United Way Outstanding Youth, HOSA Outstanding student, an Emerging Young Leader, Founder/Publisher, �Me and My Mentor.�

 March 20, 2001    

Seth Diggs, Cherice�s boy friend was visiting Cherice from Stanford University.

She didn�t come home for Spring break because we planned to meet in Oklahoma that Wednesday to attend the NAACP Regional Conference. I had sent her an e-ticket and was looking forward to seeing her

March 21, 2001                                                        

It was 11:30am at S.H. Gates Elementary school. I had just picked up my energetic first grade students from lunch and was heading back to the classroom when I was beckoned to the office by one of my colleagues.

She said, �The secretary needs to see you in the office.� I was wondering, what would she want at 11:00am. Did I forget to turn in my attendance? I went to the office and she said.� Mrs. Lewis I think you better take this phone call in the Principal�s Office.� I sat down in the chair and took the phone. At the other end of the receiver a male voice asked, �Is your name Claudette Lewis, do you have a daughter, name Cherice Cochrane who attends Tulane University?� I answered yes to his questions. �Well mam, I am calling from the morgue and we have your daughter here.� I was dazed but not alarmed. Why, because Cherice had done this exercise in 1999 when she participated in �Mothers� Against Drunk Driving.� She not only played �dead� but spent the night in the morgue. There she wrote me a letter which was sealed and I had to write her one. I then answered. �What is she doing there, volunteer work?� The man said �No mam, we found her dead this morning in her bed in the dorm at Tulane University.� My whole world turned upside down. No this can�t be I spoke to her in the week. We were suppose to go to Oklahoma to the NAACP Regional Conference. I hung up the phone and the next call was from the University. I was outraged. I asked Dr. Eckerd, why did they notify me in this manner? I was already experiencing pain from my arthritis and fatigue. She advised me that it was the law in New Orleans to be notified by the morgue first.

The school did not offer to fly me down to New Orleans, They didn�t care how I was going to handle the news or take care of  funeral expenses without insurance. They offered to ship her body in a pine box to Lewis Funeral home.

A parent and some students came to the funeral. They had a memorial for her. Camille and her friend attended. I did not care to attend.

Her belongings were shipped home. I donated all 11 boxes to Goodwill. I refused to view her body. I wanted to remember her the way she was, young vibrant, with a bright future ahead of her. The next couple of days were a nightmare. I went to my job hoping to secure her rider on my policy to bury her. The clerk informed me, I had not elected a child rider. Cherice had no life insurance that I could put my hand on. I sent the word out to the Black community. No flowers, instead send donation to the Credit Union. We buried Cherice with the love and support from the San Antonio community. Later on I located a $10,000 policy that I had a hard time convincing the insurance company to release. We waited at least 4 months for an investigator to interview me to determine, no fowl play.

I was told by her room mate, Dana Campbell that she was not feeling well so she went to the infirmary. They sent her back to the dorm and was told to drink plenty of fluid and take some Tylenol. The morning she was found dead in her bed. Dr. Kirby the visiting physician diagnosed it as the flu. How could they not have known it was meningitis. After all they had a death in 1996.

Eight months after Cherice�s death, another student died  from Meningitis at Tulane University and the first death was a young man in 1996.          

Thanks for letting me share my story,

Love, Claudette Lewis, Cherice's mom

Send Cherice a message, or a poem or light a candle for her

        See Cherice's Quilt at  http://virtualmemorials.net/cherisecochrane/cherisecochrane.html

Life of An Angel

	This is a picture of all my friends from San Antonio chillin' at Jim's Restaurant. From left to right they are: Ross, Laura, Marques, Judi, Kristie, and Teresa. Notice the dramatic change in Ross's appearance compared to the picture to the right.

                      WIND BENEATH MY WINGS