Steve "Cookie" J. Koch

There truly was no one more genuine than Steve Koch. He was a man of great integrity, a strong work ethic, and sincere compassion for others. He was a loving husband, supportive father, wonderful grandfather and a cherished friend to many. A generous, driven, and dedicated man, he lived his life with passion. Giving of himself selflessly over the years was the legacy he leaves behind to countless friends and family. His warm personality, jovial spirit, and loving ways will be deeply missed.

The 1950’s were known as the decade of the baby boomer. Exciting times indeed with the many talents of professional baseball player, Mickey Mantle, the rock music icon, Elvis Presley and movie heartthrob, James Dean. Families still huddled around the television to catch the latest westerns such as Gunsmoke or anything featuring Lucille Ball. On February 21st in Paulding, Ohio proud parents Vitus and Ruth (Minich) Koch welcomed home their baby boy, Steve.

Born with a natural curiosity and a sense of adventure, Steve lived a typical childhood of the times. He found a great satisfaction in disassembling toys to see how they worked and had a strong interest in cars. Remarkably, from a young age, he could identify any car’s make and model. Steve was born to a hard working set of parents who instilled in him the value of a hard day’s work. His father was both a farmer and a janitor at Leo Schools and his mother worked at the General Electric plant in Fort Wayne. With a houseful of kids, the family made many memorable memories together. As a young man, Steve was eager to start earning a wage of his own and took work pulling weeds in the crop fields by hand. Intense and often exhausting work, Steve spent many summers in the hot weather looking forward to filling his time with fishing on the weekends. Later, he landed a position with Sheller Globe, an auto parts manufacturing company. With his high interest and love of cars, he was content there for many years.

Not to be forgotten was the meeting of the woman of his dreams, Debra Williamson that would change his life forever! They met at a party and Steve never let her out of his sight. For weeks after he pursued her by driving past her house to see if she was there. After some time dating, they decided to make a beautiful life together and joined in marriage on February 20, 1988, at St. Joe Church of Christ. Steve has four wonderful children, Randy, Scott, Trena, and Stephanie. He was a good father and loved each and every one of them unconditionally. With a knack for tinkering and working on projects, there simply wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them. Steve enjoyed lending a helping a hand whenever they needed it. Providing for his growing family, he also took work with Heidtman Steel in Butler where he was well liked by his co workers. He was no stranger to hard work and doing his personal best to see to it that at the end of the day he was satisfied with his work. Easy-going and even keeled, Steve loved his job and enjoyed working for the company.

Above all else, Steve was indeed a family man. He enjoyed the time he spent with his grandchildren and great grandchildren immensely.   He enjoyed the time spent with his dog Stormy.  Beyond his craftsmanship and his love of the outdoors, Steve entertained a wide variety of hobbies and interests. He loved to share his love of fishing as well as his extensive gun and antique clock collections. A lover of anything country, he also enjoyed riding his tractor and making homemade wine! Over the years he had even taken up the hobby of quilt making, an interest that came out of his passion for working with his hands and keeping himself busy during the long winter months. Described as someone that everybody loved, friendly, and always positive, Steve will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. Steve’s philosophy on life was “let things go and get along with everyone.”  He would always end a visit with “That’s all folks!”

Steve J. “Cookie” Koch, age 67, died Saturday, July 15, 2017, at his home. Surviving are his wife Debra (Williamson) Koch, two sons, Steven R. Koch of Garrett and Scott Koch of Auburn; two daughters Trena (Nathan) McCann of New Mexico and Stephanie (Josh) Traxler of Hicksville; three brothers Anthony Koch, William Koch, and John Miller; a sister Maureen Koch; eight grandchildren, six great grandchildren.   He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Joyce Koch, a grandchild, and a great grandchild. Funeral services will be Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at 11:00 AM at Pinnington Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Auburn, Indiana. Calling will be Tuesday from 2-4 and 6-8 and one hour prior to services. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery. Memorials are requested to Parkview Hospice, 1900 Carew St. Fort Wayne, IN 46805.