Sterling R. Cockrill
| Sterling R. Cockrill | |
|---|---|
| Arkansas State Representative from Pulaski County | |
|
In office January 1, 1957 – December 31, 1970 |
|
| Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives | |
|
In office 1967–1968 |
|
| Preceded by | J. H. Cottrell, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Hayes McClerkin |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 7, 1925 Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Political party | Democratic-turned-Republican (1970) |
| Spouse(s) | Adrienne Storey Cockrill |
| Relations | Chester Ashley |
| Children | Two daughters |
| Residence | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Alma mater | University of Arkansas |
| Occupation |
Insurance agent, government employee, urban planner Artist |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Battles/wars | World War II; Korean War |
Insurance agent, government employee, urban planner
Sterling Robertson Cockrill, Jr. (born April 7, 1925), is a retired politician and civic leader and active artist in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Cockrill is a descendant of the 19th century U.S. Senator Chester Ashley, the co-founder of the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock and the namesake of Ashley County in south Arkansas. There are multiple Sterling Robertson Cockrills in Arkansas. One, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, was the youngest chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, who died in 1901 at the age of fifty-three. Chief Justice Cockrill's wife was the granddaughter of Senator Ashley; their son was named Ashley Cockrill.
Cockrill served in the United States Navy during the closing days of World War II and in the Korean War. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and joined the insurance agency owned by his father in Little Rock. Cockrill and his wife, the former Adrienne Storey, have two daughters.
Cockrill was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1956, the same year that Orval Faubus won a second then two-year term as governor of Arkansas. He remained in the state House until December 31, 1970 and was the Speaker for a single term from 1967 to 1968.
In 1968, Speaker Cockrill had criticized Republican Governor Winthrop Rockefeller's proclaimed "Era of Excellence," as having never materialized. In the spring of 1970, however, Cockrill switched affiliation to the Republican Party to run for lieutenant governor on the GOP ticket headed by the two-term Rockefeller, who sought a third-term in office. He explained his party bolt in the pamphlet entitled "The Conscience of an Arkansan". Cockrill criticized the Democratic loyalty oath and accused the Democrats of being willing to "do anything, say anything, tell anything, create anything in order to win." Cockrill won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor with 88 percent of the vote over the politically unknown Gerald Williams of North Little Rock. Cockrill replaced Lieutenant Governor Maurice Britt on the Republican ticket, who instead served as the Rockefeller campaign manager.
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