Anne Cochran MacLeod

Anne Cochran MacLeod was born into a US Army family and by the time she graduated from high school in 1951 she had lived in 10 different states including Alaska. Visiting a new state, one of her sons would jokingly ask her, “Now, when did you live here?” And she would often reply with a date.

One of the formative experiences of her early life was spending her summers off from Mount Holyoke College visiting her parents in Helsinki, Finland where her father was the Army Attache at the US Embassy.  These summers were filled with traveling around Europe with her sister, embassy receptions, and accompanying her father on trips around Finland – we always suspected they were secret missions.

After graduating from Mt. Holyoke in 1955, Anne was accepted at the School of Army Physical Therapy at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.    She continued practical training as a physical therapist at Letterman Army Hospital at the Presidio in San Francisco.  After her training was completed, Second Lieutenant Cochran was posted to Madigan Army Hospital in Tacoma, Washington.  Soon after her arrival in Washington, her future husband, First Lieutenant Gordon C. MacLeod MD saw her in a booth eating breakfast and introduced himself.  Over the next twenty years they raised a family of four sons and lived at seven postings including three years at Tachikawa Air Base in Japan in the early 1960s where Anne delighted in learning about Japanese culture and art.  After Gordon retired from the Air Force in 1976, they moved to Fremont.

Once in Fremont, Anne contributed to the educational and cultural life of Fremont.  She was a member and secretary of the Fremont Cultural Arts Council, member of the Olive Hyde Art Guild, member and secretary of the Fremont Symphony Guild, member of the American Association of University Women and member of the League of Women Voters. She was a “Book-Legger” for the Fremont Library passing on her love for reading to elementary school children. She regularly hosted and participated in the Great Decisions program.  She was a Sunday School Teacher and Deacon at the Centerville Presbyterian Church.

Through her participation in these groups Anne cultivated a large circle of devoted friends in Fremont.  As Anne aged and became less mobile her friends assisted with transportation to concerts and other events.

Anne was an excellent tennis player, rarely making an unforced error and known for using all the angles on the tennis court.  She was always one of the best players on the court and was in great demand as a doubles partner.  At Scott AFB, she was referred to as the human backboard by the men’s high school tennis team…the ball always came back! She was proud to have won the club championship at Kimber Woods Tennis and Swim Club in the late 1970s.

Anne was a devoted and loving partner to her husband.  They shared a love for tennis, travel, the symphony, and raising their four boys.  She gamely tried to become a skier, but once all of her boys had become more adept on the slopes, she gave that up and enjoyed her solitude in Fremont on ski weekends.  After the boys left home, Anne and Gordon traveled extensively, often visiting one of their sons abroad or attending a Rotary International Convention.  They celebrated their 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries hosting family reunions at Sun River Resort in Oregon.

Anne was a loving mother, passing on a capacity for unconditional love, and a belief in the importance of education.  She allowed each of her sons the latitude to find their own path in life and never second guessed their decisions (or at least she wouldn’t voice her disapproval) and was kind and supportive of her sons’ partners.  She passed on her love of music and the arts, travel, and fascination with other cultures, and all her sons lived and worked for extended periods of time in Europe, Latin America or Africa.

Anne made everyone in the extended family feel cared about.  She was famously known by her grandchildren, great grandchildren, and nieces and nephews as never forgetting a birthday or Christmas with generous and thoughtful gifts.

Anne passed away peacefully in her home in Fremont on September 15.  She is survived by her husband of 68 years, Dr. Gordon C. MacLeod of Fremont, her four sons, Gordon A. of Los Alamos, NM, Douglas M. of Los Altos, CA, William B. of Boston, MA, James L. of Fremont, her sister Constance Cochran Greenfield of San Francisco, and six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 16 at 11:00 am at Centerville Presbyterian Church in Fremont with a reception to follow.