 In 1995, Cochran and his wife Lee were named Outstanding Virginians.Cochran died at his home in Staunton on Saturday, January 22, 2011, aged 98, and was buried at Staunton's Thornrose Cemetery after a service at Trinity Episcopal Church, on whose vestry he had served for many years.On March 24, 2011, Staunton's City Council renamed the City Court building the George M. Cochran Judicial Center in his honor.