Barbara L. Koch 1927 - 2021
In Loving and Grateful Memory of a Faithful Wife and Mother
Barbara L. Koch began life August 3, 1927, in Portland, the youngest child of Grace Mick and Charles (Ogden) Staley, separating her siblings by 15 years: the eldest sister, Mary, and twins, James and Francis. She married Fred Koch Jr. in 1948, and they were married for 71 years, until his passing on July 27, 2020. The couple bore two children, son Malcolm, born August 21, 1950, and a daughter, Grace Ann, born June 20, 1953. Barbara became the classic, stay-at-home, post-war mother, gracious and kind to all.
Barbara’s early life was spent on the family farm located on the southwest side of Mount Richmond in Yamhill County. Her father, Charles, was the maintenance electrical engineer in the shop facility for the Oregon Electric Railway. He worked the family farm on weekends with a hired man and his wife Grace and daughter Barbara. Occasionally, relatives and friends would visit, bringing supp