Martha Allison Cochrane
Writer, poet, teacher and artist, Martha Allison Cochrane (84), died Monday, March 13, 2023, with her daughters by her side. Martha was born in Dearborn, Michigan, May 25, 1938, to Archibald and Rosamond Cochrane. In 1944, the Cochrane family moved to Billings, where Martha along with her sisters Rae, Ros, Kathleen, and Jean were raised in a home full of music, dance, laughter, and drama.
After graduating from Billings High School, Martha moved to California to pursue her love of acting. She earned a BA in Drama from Pomona College, where she met and married James Tugend. Before parting ways, the couple lived in Laurel Canyon and had two daughters, Julie and Katherine. In 1970, Martha, the girls and their two rambunctious beagles moved to Pacific Grove. Here Martha brought dance and theater to inmates at Soledad Prison, while working at a natural foods bakery to put food on the table.
They then moved to Albany, California, where Martha found her niche in the eclectic circles of Berkeley in the 70’s. She made tie-dyed shirts and cultivated lifelong friends, working odd jobs while raising her girls to be feminists and independent thinkers. When turned down for a job because she was “a woman,” she sued the city of Albany, and won! She ended up working in their street maintenance department where she learned to drive a backhoe and run a jackhammer. Martha was one tough cookie! She went on to receive an MA in Psychology from Mills College, earn an MFCC license, and start a program called Kids’ Group for children of parents in a residential alcohol and drug addiction treatment center that still operates today.
Martha returned to Billings in 1999, when her mother’s health waned. She fed her creative soul by studying poetry at Rocky Mountain College and MSUB. She also studied Spanish at MSUB and fell in love with it. At the age of 73 she was inspired to travel to Antigua, Guatemala, where she lived with a local family for three months studying Spanish and immersing herself in the culture. Martha was gifted with intelligence, humor, talent, curiosity, and compassion. She was known for her keen listening skills and made friends wherever she went.
Martha was always starting new ventures, and one day she decided to volunteer in a kindergarten classroom, where she met her dear friend Shauna who quickly became one of the family. Martha made all sorts of unique art, including witty cartoon sketches and collages made of found objects, like broken glass, butterfly wings, and even Starbucks cups and swizzle sticks.
Martha received numerous writing awards, wrote feature articles for The Billings Outpost and published poetry in Stone’s Throw Magazine. Sadly, Martha lost her eyesight in August 2022, but that did not stop her from completing and self-publishing her third book “The Rabbit’s Tale,” a children’s folk story, in late 2022.
Martha is survived by her daughters, Julie Tugend and Katherine Lyons; her sisters, Kathleen Cochrane, Jean Wallace, and Ros Cochrane; her cousin, Jeff Cochrane, and extended family.
The family would like to give a special thanks to the entire staff of Casmur Assisted Living for their loving care and support.
