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Bountiful • To Emma Dugal, the Onion Street Studio slogan "Record Your Masterpiece" is not just about music. Those words, she said, make a statement about Kurt Cochran, one of the business' owners.
"Kurt has recorded his masterpiece by his life," Dugal, executive director of the Bountiful Davis Art Center, said Sunday. "That life has had such an impact on us all."
Dugal spoke at a memorial for Cochran, a 54-year-old West Bountiful man who was killed Wednesday in London in a terror attack. Cochran's wife, Melissa Payne Cochran, 46, suffered a head laceration and a broken leg and rib. She is expected to recover. According to a statement from the LDS Church, 11 members of the Cochran and Payne families are planning to hold a news conference Monday in London.
In a written statement, Clint Payne, Melissa's brother, said, "Melissa wants all of you to know how much she loves you. She is so grateful and overwhelmed with your generosity and outpouring of love. Her health is steadily improving. Thank you all for the kind words and pledges of support."
The couple ran Onion Street Studio, a music and rehearsal facility, in the basement of their home in West Bountiful. About 100 people attended the memorial, which was held at the art center at 90 N. Main in Bountiful and streamed live in London.
Speakers talked about the pain caused by the loss of Kurt Cochran and praised him and his wife for their generosity and contributions to the community, including their volunteer work at the annual Summerfest music festival. In addition, Onion Street and Summerfest musicians performed at the memorial.
E. Kent Winward, an Ogden lawyer, said he and his wife, JulieAnn Carter-Winward, became friends with the Cochrans after they hired Kurt to be the sound engineer for his spouse's audiobooks.
Reading a column he wrote that was published Sunday in the Standard-Examiner, Winward said Cochran had a passion for music and sounds.
"Kurt not only listened, he could hear," Winward said. "He had an ear for sound, an innate talent, and he was masterful at his calling. Not only could Kurt hear music, he could hear people. He had an ear for what someone needed, what soothed them, what made them smile."
He also said that when the Cochrans learned earlier this year that Carter-Winward had become seriously ill, their response was "immediate and compassionate."
"They were both all-in to help us," Winward's column said.
Carter-Winward, a poet, described Cochran as "gentle, kind, loving and accepting." In a poem, "a friend died in London," she wrote of a pain "so deep, so sharp, words can't possibly do how those who loved him feel today, justice."
Kurt Cochran was propelled off of Westminster Bridge when a man drove an SUV through scores of pedestrians, then crashed into a gate outside the Parliament building.
Cochran landed on a concrete pad below the bridge and died a short time later at a London hospital. Three other people also were killed, including a police officer who the driver stabbed to death after getting out of the vehicle.
Melissa Cochran was among more than three dozen people who were injured.
The Cochrans were on a 2 1/2-week wedding anniversary trip to Europe and had planned to return Thursday. While in England, the two visited Melissa Cochran's parents, who are serving as missionaries to the LDS Church's London Temple.
Onion Street Studio was the realization of Cochran's dream, Bret Layton, a business partner in the venture and Cochran's friend of more than 20 years, told The Salt Lake Tribune. The studio's goal is to help clients discover their talents, according to its website.
"That was one thing he loved, helping musicians take that next step," Layton said.
Payne has set up a GoFundMe site to help the Cochran family. By Sunday night, the fund had surpassed its initial $50,000 goal, reaching nearly $70,000.
Twitter: PamelaMansonSLC