INDIANAPOLIS — Betty Cockrum, the former head of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, who also served as state budget director, has died, according to her family.
Cockrum served as president and CEO of Planned Parenthood for 15-years, during which the Indiana and Kentucky organizations merged.
During the administration of Governor Frank O'Bannon, Cockrum was state budget director and head of the Department of Administration. Earlier, she was the city controller in Bloomington and worked for the Bloomington Redevelopment Department.
“Betty ran a tight ship at Bloomington City Hall and brought street smarts and passion to state government in every job she took on,” said John Goss, former deputy mayor of Bloomington.
The youngest of eight children, Cockrum was born March 25, 1953 on a 40-acre hog farm in LaGrange County. She attended Ball State University and IUPUI.
“Betty Cockrum was so many things to so many people,” read a statement from her sons. “Countless lives touched, careers built, families supported, jobs created, storms weathered and mountains moved. While she was busy changing the world for the better, for us, she was just ‘Mom.’”
