In this article, the author describes the life and works of Lida Cochran, the matriarch of visual literacy. Lida was practicing "visual literacy" long before there was an association devoted to it. Lida has worked with the AECT, ECT Foundation (the Cochran Internship is named for her husband, Lee Cochran), and the International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA). She has attended every Visual Literacy Conference since the early 1970s and has served as president of IVLA as (well as almost every other office) and has received almost every honor from IVLA including the top honor, the John L. Debes Award. The author also describes the beginnings of the International Visual Literacy Association.