Mr. George A. Koch, 93, of Sun City, Arizona, passed away on Saturday, August 18, 2018, under the gentle care of Hospice of the West, while residing at Desert Winds Retirement Community in Peoria, Arizona. Mr. Koch is survived by his wife, Blossom Jeanne (Clelland) Koch, to whom he was married on June 23, 1951. He is also survived by his two sons, George A. Koch, Jr., and his wife Sandra Heal, of West Newton, Pennsylvania, and Timothy R. Koch and his husband William K. Cody, of Charlotte, North Carolina. He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Louise (Koch) Miller, in 2002.
George Koch was born June 24, 1925, in Scottdale, Pennsylvania to George A. and Rose (Crossan) Koch, and moved as an infant to Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, where his father worked as a stone mason. When his father fell ill, the family returned to Scottdale, and his father passed in 1933. George graduated from Scottdale High School in 1943, lettering in three varsity sports and holding elected class office. Following graduation, George enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served as a navigator on a Consolidated PBY Catalina, flying over the North Atlantic Ocean during World War II. He was honorably discharged as an Aviation Ordnanceman Second Class in 1946.
Mr. Koch drove a dry-cleaning truck for Goodwin Cleaners of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, until 1959, when he began his career as a letter carrier for the Scottdale Post Office. A beloved mailman in his community, he was president of the local union branch of the NALC. Not long after his retirement in 1987, George and his wife made the move to Sun City, Arizona, a welcome change from their Pennsylvania winters. As an Arizonan, George became an avid golfer, was active in his local church, and fully enjoyed his friends and neighbors.
George Koch will be greatly missed by all who came to know and love him. He is to be interred in the Columbarium at Lakeview United Methodist Church, in Sun City, in a private family service. The family requests that you contribute to any worthy charity of your choice in his memory, in lieu of flowers or other similar remembrances.
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