Bob Koenig peacefully passed away on Sunday, January 23, 2022, at the age of 92, retaining his great sense of humor to the end. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 1, 1929, the first child of Karl William and Anna Marie Hahl Koenig. Just after he turned 12 the family moved to Williston Park, Long Island, NY, where he spent most of his teen years.
While home on leave from the Army before going to Korea in 1951, he met his future wife, MaryAnn Elisa (Liz) Ships. They were married in Washington, D.C. on September 7, 1954. The marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. After 41 happy years of marriage, Liz succumbed to breast cancer in 1995. They were the parents of five children, whom they loved very much.
Bob was then fortunate enough to find love again and married Constance Anne (Connie) McDougal Bloomfield on October 12, 1996, after proposing to her in a hot air balloon. He was always grateful that he was able to share his life and love with these two wonderful women.
As an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he served in more than a dozen ward, stake and regional positions, his favorite being as a priesthood and Gospel Doctrine teacher, he also served as a stake missionary. Along with his dear friend Jim Cochrane at his side, he enjoyed decades of being a home teacher.
He attended Brigham Young University, where he was the editor of the campus newspaper and a performer with the Student Program Bureau. He also won the Deseret News Internship-Scholarship.
As a staff writer for the Deseret News, he wrote everything from news articles to editorials and interviewed many famous people. He was also an on-air news stringer for KSL Radio and a free-lance writer-photographer for KCPX-TV. Bob later served as executive director of Downtown Planning and Promotion Association and public relations director of the Salt Palace.
His love of roller coasters developed at a young age starting at Coney Island in Brooklyn. This passion took him all over the country, traveling over 25,000 miles to ride more than 100 coasters and it continued actively thru his 80th birthday, which he celebrated with family at Magic Mountain in California.
He is survived by his wife, Connie, his children, Cyndi Lee, Sharon Sorensen and Scotty Nielsen, Susan Ernst, Barbara and Daniel Larsen, Jay and Hildegard Koenig, and stepson, Scott and Rachel Bloomfield, 14 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
Preceded in death by his first wife, Liz, his parents, his siblings Jerry and Janet, two sons-in-law, his stepson, and his great-granddaughter.
Bob and his family are thankful for the team from Aspen Ridge Home Health and Hospice that cared for him the last year of his life. He was especially grateful to Ashlee and Luis for the friendship and love that they brought to him.
A small family graveside service will be held at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3401 S Highland Dr, Salt Lake City, Utah, on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. We ask that masks please be worn.
In lieu of flowers please consider a contribution to your favorite charity.
