The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-06-03

Today friends we devote our program to one of our nelghborS who has devoted his life to the w0rk of God. He is the Reverend Thomas Sylvester Cochard, pastor of the Prospect Congregational church. Reverend Cochard does not present the appearance Of Q clergyman, but, in every sense or the word he is @ true churchmai1.
 Ills whole heart and mind are given over to the service ot ms parishioners. It's c comparative. ly small congregation that wor" ships at Mir. Cochard's church, but each of its members finds m him c true friend.
 Thomas Sylvester Cochard was bun in the town of Anderson, Indiana, a small settlement about thirty miles from Indianapolis. He started school there, but he was such Q young boy when his family moved to Pittsburgh, that he has always considered the Smokey City" his home town. His father, August died about eight years ago, and his mother. Annie Kirchner Cochard, IS still living in Pittsburgh. After coEn- pleting his primary education in the public schools of Pittsburgh, Thomas Cochard attended prep school at night at Carnegie Tech. Two years of high school studies at Carnegie Tech were followed by another two years of secondary studies at Muskingunn Prep school at New Concord, Ohio. Muskin- gum Prep school was connected with Q college bearing the same name, and Thomas Cochard eri- tered college in 1916. In 1918 he entered the service and about year later was honorably dis- charged as a sergeant in the Med- teal Corps. For a short time while he was in the service he was in the engineering division.
 Tn 1919 Mir. Cochard returned to college to complete his course, and was graduated with a B. A. degree in 1921. The following fall he entered Xenia Theological Seminary at Pittsburgh where he turned to the pursuit of more ad- vanced knowledge in preparation of the ministry. While he was at Xenia Seminary he taught night school in the YMCA, specializing in high school academic subjects. In April, 1924, he was ordained to the ministry after having com- pleted his course of studies at the seminary and being awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology.
 His first church was at Canton, Ohio where he remained until 1929. It was at that time that he came to this part of the country. Mir. Cochard left Canton, Ohio to come to Yale. Tn the summer of 1929 Mir. Cochard was appointed to the pastorate of the Prospect Congregational church. Previous to that time he was member of the staff of the Lowell house in New Haven, an organization de- signed to promote better sociolog- 1cal conditions among the young people of that city.
 Majoring in religious and public school education at Yale, Mir. Cochard received the degree of Master of Arts in 1882.
 Let's turn back the pages in this biography friends, and look upon a more intimate side of Mir. Cochards life.
 In July 1921, shortly after his graduation from Muskingum col- lege, Mfr. Cochard married Helen Blanche Burkhart of Verona, Pa. Your biographer has had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Cochard and found her a very charming woman. She herself. has studied quite extensively. She's a grad- nate of the Pennsylvania State Normal school. and after teach- hlg for Q few years. entered Mus hiugusn college. graduating in 1922,
 ne gear after her husband. While
 { n1uskingurn college she majcred h Sociology. and after graduation taught ln the public schools Of