GALAX, Va. -- Milo Cockerham of Galax, Va., may be gone, but his legacy lives on in his family and the numerous service stations and convenience stores in the Twin County area that bear his name, according to a report in the Galax Gazette.
Cockerham died last Friday. He was 92. The Alleghany County, N.C., native and his brother Boyd opened the Parkview Service Station, across from what today is the Galax Recreation Center, in the 1930s.
In April 1941, Cockerham was drafted into military service and became a member of [image-nocss] Company M, 116th Infantry, 29th Army Division. His division arrived one day after D Day in June 1944, the massive landing on the beaches of Normandy in which Allied troops helped end the Nazi occupation of France. Cockerham was a Jeep driver who kept troops on the front lines supplied with ammunition.
In June 1945, he returned to Galax and worked at Parkview until 1956, when he bought the Gulf Oil Distributorship from N.G. Dixon. The company later became a Chevron/BP/CITGO distributorship.
Today, the company consists of Cockerham Oil Co. in Galax, two Cockerham Tire & Auto Parts businesses in Galax and six Cockerham Food Mart convenience stores and gas stations in Galax and Carroll Counties, Va.
Cockerham's family said he also was known for his cooking talents, especially when it came to pinto beans, corn bread, barbecued chicken and fried pork skins. Cockerham was an active member of the Oakland United Methodist Church and served many years as a Sunday school teacher, choir member and lay leader.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Rubye Combs Cockerham, three sons, one daughter and eleven grandchildren.
A funeral Service was held at Oakland United Methodist on Sunday, with military rites conducted by Hillsville VFW Post #1115.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.