Industry Mourns the Passing of Indiana Manufactured Housing Professional
Darrel Clyde Cohron of Indianapolis, distinguished among manufactured housing professionals in the operation of manufactured home communities, died Oct. 9, 2019, at Community North Hospital in Indianapolis. He was 86.
Mr. Cohron, always closely associated with his twin brother Harrel, was born on Nov. 11, 1932, near Morgantown, Ky. Darrel arrived 90 minutes after Harrel, and the pair was inseparable from that time until Harrel’s death in 2008.
Their father Ben Cohron died when the twins were two years old. About eight years later the boys’ mother passed away.
Their brother Paul Cohron, his wife Mary, and sister Sarah Dean Kuykendall with her husband Walter raised the twins from there.
The Cohron Family Business
In 1948, Mr. Cohron moved from Kentucky to Indianapolis where he graduated from Warren Central High School. He served in the U.S. Army in the early to mid-1950s and married Shirley Campbell on Aug. 31, 1956 at Cumberland First Baptist Church.
The brothers co-founded Cohron’s Manufactured Housing in 1955.
Cohron’s Manufactured Homes owns seven communities in central Indiana, all within close proximity of each other, including Greenbriar, which is a celebrated community. The Cohron family continues to operate Cohron’s Manufactured Homes.
During the twin brothers’ induction into the RV/MH Hall of Fame in August 2018, Brad Cohron accepted the honor.
He noted that the brothers sold on average 550 homes a year during the 1960s and 1970s. Additionally, the two are the only pair of professionals inducted together into the Hall of Fame.
Well-Deserved Honors
Mr. Cohron also was a member of Masonic Lodge 134 in Acton, Ind., and was honored with the state of Indiana’s prestigious Sagamore of the Wabash award. The award has been bestowed upon astronauts, presidents, ambassadors, artists, musicians, politicians, and other Indiana residents who have contributed greatly to Hoosier heritage.
Along with spending time with family, and creating great places to live in central Indiana, other activities Mr. Cohron held in high regard were hunting, fishing, as well as running the farm and tractors.
Mr. Cohron is preceded in death by his wife Shirley; father, Ben; mother, Clyde; brothers Harrel, Getty, Leonard, Paul, and Glen; sisters Sarah Dean and Louise. Survivors include daughter Sheila (Dana) Voelkel; son Robert (Diane) Cohron; sister-in-law Sonja Glassing; grandchildren Kirk (Melanie) Voelkel, Mindee (Jake) Upton, Dustin (Nikki) Voelkel, Matt (Jenni) Cohron, Stephanie (Bob) Ewing, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Services for Darrel Cohron
Visitation will be Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 from 4 – 8 p.m. at the Community Life Center at Washington Park East Cemetery. Funeral services will take place the following morning at 11 a.m., also at the Community Life Center.
Burial will follow in Washington Park East Cemetery.
Memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association or a charity of choice in lieu of flowers are encouraged.
Darrel’s sense of humor, big personality and generosity are missed by all who knew him. Guests at the services should wear bright colors to match Darrel’s personality, his family said. Guests also are asked to write down and share a Darrel or Harrel story. A memory table and keepsake box will be available at the Community Life Center.
To leave condolences online for the family, visit www.flannerbuchanan.com.
