Funeral service for Robert L. Cockrell of Cape Girardeau will be held at 10 a.m. today at Morgan Funeral Chapel in Advance. The Rev. Frank Husted will officiate, with burial in Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Bell City.

Cockrell, 78, died Monday, Oct. 28, 1996, at the Lutheran Home.

He was born July 19, 1918, in Marmaduke, Ark., son of Caesar and Siddie Payne Cockrell. He and Dorothy Smith were married Sept. 6, 1952, in Chicago.

Cockrell retired as a welder with Material Service Co. in Thornton, Ill. He was a member of Bell City Masonic Lodge. He served with the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Robert Cockrell of Homewood, Ill.; three daughters, Linda Cockrell of Westchester, Nancy Kuna of Crete, Ill., Susan Kuna of South Chicago Heights, Ill.; a sister, Letha Cockrell of Mesler; and seven grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by two brothers.