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Former US Sen. Cochran’s funeral set for Mississippi Capitol

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 09: Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) (C) leaves the U.S. Capitol following early morning votes February 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. Despite an attempt by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to slow down the process, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation to continue to fund the government and lift strict budget caps. With the government officially in a shut down, the legislation now goes to the House of Representatives. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

JACKSON, Miss. — A funeral will be held next week in the Mississippi Capitol for former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, a Republican who represented the state for 45 years.

Cochran died Thursday at a veterans’ nursing home in Oxford, Mississippi. He was 81.

Coleman Funeral Home says visitation is 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the University of Mississippi Robert C. Khayat Law Center in Oxford.

One funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the state Capitol in Jackson.

Another service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson.

Cochran was elected to the U.S. House in 1972 and to the Senate in 1978. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, he steered billions of dollars to Mississippi for universities, agriculture, and Hurricane Katrina recovery. He retired in 2018.