STATE MASONIC LEADER JAMES COBBAN DIES

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The grand master of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Missouri died Wednesday. Visitation for James H. Cobban of Springfield will be held Sunday.

The Masonic Grand Lodge oversees some 60,000 Masons in Missouri.

Jess Hopple, a past master of St. Mark's Lodge in Cape Girardeau, expects a large number of Masons from across the state to pay tribute to Cobban in Springfield.

Cobban worked in the commercial glass industry for the past 28 years, founding and operating Builders Glass Products Inc.

His Masonic career began with a petition to United Lodge 5 in Springfield in 1963. He was appointed Senior Grand Marshall in 1988 and was elected Grand Master of the Masonic Grand Lodge last September.

The visitation will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Ayre-Goodwin-Lee funeral home, 4500 S. Lone Pine, in Springfield.

The funeral service will be 10 a.m. Monday at the National Heights Baptist Church, 3050 N. National. Graveside Masonic services will follow.

Survivors are his wife, Donna Chapman, and three sons.