As some of you know, my daughter was killed 4-17-99. Many of you didn’t know what she looked like.
This is a picture of my daughter Bree. It gives me great pleasure to share her with you. She was blowing a bubble with her gum while dancing. Having a great time.
Many of you were at NAMM and it was a pleasure to see you. I was glad to be able to share about my recent loss. Thank you once again for your loving & kind support.
For all of you who didn’t know, 7-27-77 was Bree’s 22nd birthday. The last week or so leading up to it have been very emotional for all of us who knew & loved Bree.
We have been getting a lot of calls from her friends. They remembered the date, 7-27-77 (her birthdate), and are reliving some of their grief at losing her. Bree had a way of becoming such an important part of our lives. I’m sure there will be many occasions in the future that will once again bring her me
mory vividly to our attention. I am willing to share the tears & the joy whenever that happens!
I just want to share about the party we had yesterday. Some of our close friends got together, with us, at Bree’s favorite park and celebrated her birthday. It is so heartwarming to hear people continue to share about the impact Bree had on them. At the party we cried and laughed a lot. There are so many stories we all have to share with eachother. Some funny, some stupid, some personal. They all have helped bring us closer to knowing Bree in all her special & unique ways. I love her so much and think of her many times a day and I appreciate the way she still makes such an important i
mpact on me every day. I thank her for allowing me to make this journey in life with her!
Once again, I thank you for allowing me to share this journey in life with you!
Bobby Cochran
7-15-99
Sat. 7-17-99 there will be a ceremony dedicating a tree in Bree’s name at the restaurant she used to work. They have planned it in Bree’s name and in her memory. The location is at Cool Springs Mall, Franklin, Tn. 615-771-7986. The time is 9:30 am 7-17-99.
If you can make it, we will share some things together in our process of healing. I MISS BREE SO MUCH I CAN HARDLY STAND IT.
I LOVE YOU,
Bobby Cochran
4-20-99
THERE IS NO WAY FOR ME TO EXPRESS THE INCREDIBLE LOSS I FEEL AT THIS MOMENT. MY DAUGHTER BREEANNON WAS KILLED SAT. NIGHT IN A HEAD ON CAR COLLISION. SHE WAS KILLED INSTANTLY, SO SHE DIDN’T FEEL ANY PAIN.
MY FAMILY AND I ARE SO HEARTBROKEN AND WILL NEED THE LOVE AND SUPPORT OF ALL OUR FRIENDS.
THOSE OF YOU WHO KNEW BREE, I’M SURE, KNOW WHAT A STAGGERING LOSS THIS IS TO US. SHE WAS A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG LADY AND AN AWESOME PRESENCE. SHE HAD A LASTING, AND MANY TIMES, PROFOUND EFFECT ON PEOPLE. I CAN’T STAND THE THOUGHT OF LIFE WITHOUT HER!
WE HAD AN IN
CREDIBLE RELATIONSHIP WITH BREE AND WE CAN NOT IMAGINE WHAT LIFE IS GOING TO BE LIKE. I KNOW WE CAN HEAL WITH TIME, IT’S JUST THAT THE PROCESS IS SO PAINFUL.
THIS CRISIS HAS GIVEN US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE & GRIEVE WITH FRIENDS. I HOPE THAT ALL OF YOU WILL SEND ALL YOUR LOVE AND PRAYERS TO BREE AND HELP HER WITH THIS JOURNEY. ALTHOUGH I SUSPECT SHE IS DOING FINE.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR FEELINGS WITH YOUR LOVED ONES, BECAUSE LIFE IS SOMETIMES SO SHORT!
SERVICES WI
LL BE HELD:
12:00 PM THURSDAY APRIL 22
HARPETH HILLS FUNERAL HOME AND MEMORY GARDENS
9090 HWY 100
NASHVILLE, TN 37221
615-646-9292
PLEASE DRESS LIKE A HIPPIE OR VERY WILD !
WE INTEND FOR THIS TO BE A CELEBRATION OF BREES LIFE & IMPACT ON ALL OF US.
BREE CAN BE VIEWED 9:00 AM TO 9:00 PM APRIL 22
WE LOVE BREE AS MUCH AS ANYBODY COULD BE LOVED!
9-14-99
I was dirving home tonight on Hwy 100 and I was overwhelmed at the loss of my daughter. I Thought of all the times she had driven down that same road. I thought about the pleasure I always got from seeing her, holding her and telling her how much I loved her. I miss that sooo much! I’ve always been very demonstrative and affectionate. Missing her as I do, it sometimes seems impossible to adjust to life without her (the way it was)!
I sometimes find myself really letting go on those drives (no one is there to be uncomfortable with my grief). I thought of how much she would prefer if I wasn’t sad but instead empowered by her memory. It feels good to know how much she cared about me (I suspect she still does). I continue to do the best I can, to bring the very best I can to life. I hope to discover my strengths and accept my weaknesses, and to do the same with others! When I arrived home, I found this email. It seems so pertinent considering my current struggle. Enjoy…
Attitude is Everything
Jerry is the manager of a restaurant in America. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!” Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs, so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always there, telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?” Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today. I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I always choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it.I always choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life I always choose the positive side of life.” “But it’s not always that easy,” I protested. “Yes it i
s,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. It’s your choice how you live your life.”
Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business: he left the back door of his restaurant open one morning and was robbed by three armed men. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Want to see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door, ” Jerry replied. “Then, after they shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or could choose to die. I choose to live.”
“Weren’t you scared,? I asked. Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.” “What did you do?” I asked. “Well, there was a big nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything.”
‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead’.”
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it. The only thing that is truly yours that no one can control or take from you – is your attitude, so if you can take care of that, everything else in life becomes much easier.
