Obituary of Frank Koch

KOCH: Frank Joseph Koch passed away in Lloydminster on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 at the age of 84 years. He was born on February 18, 1921 in Bodo, Alberta to Joseph and Angela Koch. Frank is survived by two sons and one daughter: Orval (Diane), Kenneth (Dorothy), and Angela (Ron) Christenson; seven grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and the mother of his children Lillian; five sisters and one brother: Mary D’Arcy, Bertha Klinger, Helen (Dave) Weishaar, Dorothy King (Alex Graham), Teresa Toevs (Hash Mohamed), Norbert (Clara) Koch as well as numerous nieces, nephews and relatives. Frank was predeceased by his mother Angela in 1935, father Joseph in 1954, an infant son in 1945 and his wife Fran in 2004. The prayer vigil was held on Thursday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m. and the Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, July 29 at 10:00 A.M. They were conducted from St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church with Father Adam Lech officiating. The eulogy was read by Joe Koch and Bernadette Poppleton. The leader of song was Marlene Risling accompanied by Donna Weston. Pallbearers were: Brian Klinger, Richard Klinger, Wayne King, Don King, Victor Koch, Orlando Koch and Allan Weishaar. Interment followed in the Wycollar Cemetery near Marsden, Saskatchewan. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd. of Lloydminster administered the funeral arrangements. Eulogy Uncle Frank was the first of seven children of Joseph and Angela Koch. In 1928, the family moved from Bodo, Alberta to farm near Marsden, Saskatchewan. He was a mischievous child - always on the go! His mother used to tie his hands behind his back to try to keep him out of trouble. All five sisters tried to teach him how to behave but of course Uncle Frank would not listen. One day when his mother was forking potatoes out of a bin to feed the animals, Uncle Frank, about five years old, came running around the corner. Luck was definitely on his side that day as the fork struck him in the face but missed his eyes. While splitting wood at eight years of age, Uncle Frank almost cut one of his toes off with the axe. His toe was only attached by a piece of skin. Not wanting anyone to notice, he tried to hide the injury by putting a lot of dirt on it. However his mother did notice so she cleaned the wound and bandaged it as the doctor was too far away. The toe healed well. There is a lot to be said about a mother’s healing hands, clean dirt and one tough little boy. Uncle Frank and his siblings all received their education at Cliffe School. Since the family only spoke German at home, English was a new language to learn. Being quite athletic, Uncle Frank enjoyed playing softball and was a good pitcher. The summer after he completed Grade Eight, his mother passed away so he stayed home to help his father farm during the depression. He was 15 years old. Uncle Frank loved to dance and went to all the dances riding his favorite horse, Lightning, to town. There was one time when his father allowed him to take the car, a ‘38 Chev. While coming home from Watson’s across the field, the brakes did not work. He ran into the gatepost, knocked off a headlight and scratched the car. Uncle Frank’s explanation was “The brakes are supposed to work.” On August 11, 1943, Uncle Frank married Lillian Cunningham of Marsden at a double wedding ceremony shared with his sister Mary who married Jim D’Arcy. The wedding was performed at the Catholic Rectory in Carruthers. Uncle Frank was often found working at odd jobs for various people in the area. In June 1944 their first son Orval was born in Lashburn. Arriving prematurely, Orval weighed only 3 pounds, 11 ounces. To keep him warm they put him on the reservoir of the wood cookstove. In 1945 they purchased the Liddicoat farm south of Neilburg and Uncle Frank became the milkman. On the move to the new farm, they had the misfortune of giving birth to a boy prematurely resulting in the loss of a child. They resided on this farm for eight years, operating a dairy and delivering milk and cream to Neilburg. During this time Kenneth and Angela were born making their family complete. After selling the farm, the family moved to several places finally settling in Mannville, Alberta. Keeping with tradition, Uncle Frank and Aunt Lillian along with Aunty Mary and Uncle Jim celebrated their 25th Anniversaries together. They went on a camping trip to many interesting places in Saskatchewan for a couple of weeks. A few years later Uncle Frank and Aunt Lillian separated. Uncle Frank still loved to dance and went to the Minus-One dances in Lloydminster where he met Fran Shearman. They were married in 1978 and enjoyed 26 years together. Uncle Frank worked at various jobs with carpentry as his main occupation. There was only one time he was unable to work. While putting up a building, he noticed he could not hit the nail on the head. He went to the doctor finding out he had a mild case of Multiple Sclerosis. The disease went into remission allowing Uncle Frank to return to the carpentry work he loved. There was not an old building he could not fix. He even remodeled the house he grew up in for his brother as Norbert’s family grew. He remodeled many houses for relatives and other people until he retired at age 75. He was noted for never finishing the ridge cap. He would say - “There is nothing left, you guys can finish that.” The nieces and nephews will always remember Uncle Frank for his ability to stand on his head. He would always give us a hard time because we either could not stand on our heads or were not a pro like him. After all we were teenagers and should be able to do everything. In closing, the day you passed away Uncle Frank we started to fix up another old farm building, the garage on Grandpa Lorenz’s homestead. All day while my kids were tearing the south half of the roof off, I was saying to them, “How Uncle Frank would love to be here to work on this building.” Uncle Frank, your spirit will always be truly with us. We love you and will miss you. Card of Thanks The family wishes to express their sincere thank you to family, relatives and friends who have helped in so many ways. We appreciate all your kind wishes and deeds. Thank you to Father Adam Lech for the comforting Mass, Joe Koch and Bernadette Poppleton for the special eulogy, the pallbearers, and Marlene Risling, Donna Weston, Diane Koch, Gail Koch, Sharon Koch, and Bernadette Poppleton for the music. Thank you to the Manitou Museum for the lovely lunch they served in the Marsden Community Hall following the interment. We would like to thank McCaw Funeral Service Ltd. for handling all the arrangements and their caring support. A special thank you to all who attended the prayers and the funeral Mass and to all who sent cards, flowers and donations. Orval, Diane Kenneth, Dorothy Angela, Ron