Carol Lynn Hart, a beloved mother, grandmother and retired social worker who served the State of Oklahoma for more than 35 years, passed away on February 12th, 2016 in Oklahoma City. She was 74 years old.

In addition to her work with the State, through the Department of Human Services and later the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Hart was also a member of the Muscogee Creek and Cherokee tribes.

Born Carol Lynn Cochran in Claremore, Okla., on February 15, 1941, she was the youngest of two daughters born to parents Marie Childers Cochran (a full-blood Muscogee Creek) and Joseph Cochran (Cherokee). Her sister is Christine Cochran Chouteau of Ft. Gibson, Okla. She was also the stepdaughter of Blanche Gay Cochran.

Carol grew up in Tulsa, where she graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1959. (She spent her sophomore year at Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas.)

Her father, Joe, spent 42 years as a law enforcement officer, which included time as an officer in the Tulsa Police Department and as a deputy sheriff for Tulsa County. He was also a deputy U.S. marshal. Carol's paternal grandfather, George W. Cochran, was a law enforcement officer in Catoosa and a deputy U.S. marshal of Arkansas, which at the time included Indian Territory.

After her high school graduation, Carol was crowned Miss Cherokee Holiday in September 1959 in Tahlequah, Okla. Part of the prize included a scholarship to Northeastern State college, where she graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor's degree in sociology.

In 1970, Carol married Marshall Hart of Tulsa, Okla., and the now-divorced couple had one daughter, Laura, in 1975.

As a social worker, Carol worked all over Oklahoma -- Tulsa, Girls' Town, Weatherford, Guthrie. She eventually settled in Oklahoma City in 1981 and finished out her career as a medical analyst at the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.

In addition to her work, she loved reading about history and researching genealogy, which included her Creek, Cherokee and English ancestry. She was also a well-loved mother, grandma, sister, aunt, cousin and friend.

Carol is survived by her daughter, Laura Clark (Ian Clark), of Culver City, Calif.; her two grandchildren, Caroline and William; her sister, Christine; her nephews, Mitchell Chouteau and Michael Chouteau; her nieces Sharon Farmer and Lavon Van Namee; her great-nephews Matthew and David Chouteau, Benjamin and Bradley Brown, and Kirk Kuykendall; her great-nieces DeAnne Foster and Christine Walsh; as well as great-great-nephews, great-great-nieces and cousins.

She will be truly missed.

Visitation will be held Noon til 8:00 P.M., Tuesday, February 16, 2016 and Service 10:00 A.M. Wednesday February 17, 2016, both at Moore's Memory Chapel 1403 S. Peoria Ave., Tulsa, OK 74120.

Moore's Memory Chapel
918-583-6148