Leroy Koehn

LeRoy was born in Avon, South Dakota on March 17, 1928, the son of the late Jake and Lulu (Lidtke) Koehn. LeRoy grew up on a farm and attended Southern State College in Springfield, SD for two years. After college, LeRoy taught 8th grade students in Lake Andes, SD, beginning in September of 1949. LeRoy taught all subjects to his students and received a salary of $1,800 per year for the effort.

On December 1, 1954, LeRoy moved from South Dakota to Thornton, Colorado where he lived for 66 years. He worked at Ideal Basic Industries for 28 years before retiring. After Ideal, LeRoy worked at the Mapleton Public School District for 10 years at Skyview High and John Dewey Middle School. LeRoy was an active member of the Westminster Elks Lodge #2227 for 49 years.

Although divorced after 36 years of marriage, LeRoy was preceded in death by his former wife and good friend, Lillian Koehn. LeRoy is survived by his son and daughter in law, Randy and Dana Koehn, and daughter and son in law, Tamara Koehn and Mike Nault.

LeRoy was an exceptional extrovert and made friends wherever he went. Always quick with a story or joke, LeRoy was fun to be around and joy to be with. LeRoy was also a walking history class of the Avon, SD region and could tell listeners about the people, the farm work, and how it felt to live in early 20th century prairie farmland. Everyone who knew LeRoy can relate the story of Art Redwing and the centipede. LeRoy’s family believes he lived as long as he did precisely because of the hard work he performed on his family’s and neighbor’s farms, and the strength and good humor that lifestyle bred into its people. LeRoy is already missed.

In lieu of flowers, LeRoy requests memorial contributions be made to the The Heart Foundation.org.