Charles Adam Koch, 84, passed away peacefully, November 16, 2018, at Haven Health of Yuma, AZ. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Friday, May 31, 2019 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Mandan, ND, with Rev. Jarad Wolf as celebrant.
Burial of the urn will be at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery at 12:00 PM. Charlie was born on October 5, 1934, to Innocenz and Celestine Koch in Mandan. He graduated from Mandan High School in 1952 and received a B.S. degree in petroleum engineering from the University of North Dakota in 1968.
He received an M.S. degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Wyoming in 1968. He was an active member of the National Guard from 1955 to 1958 and served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1962. He married Darlyne Schaff in 1960 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mandan, ND, and made their first home at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
Charlie began his career as a petroleum engineer in 1962 working for the Federal Power Commission in Washington, D.C. He moved to Laramie, Wyoming to begin work for the U.S. Bureau of Mines in 1963. In 1970, he was appointed the Federal Liaison Officer for the U.S. Bureau of Mines in North Dakota and moved to Bismarck where he and his family lived until 1975 when he took the Liaison position for Wyoming in Cheyenne.
In 1982, Charlie accepted a position with the North Dakota Industrial Commission, Oil & Gas Division as the State Petroleum Engineer in Bismarck, where he remined until retiring in 1999. Charlie was a licensed professional engineer, a life member of the Elks, and while living in Wyoming, was active in the Rotary Club and Toastmasters. Upon retirement he and his wife, Darlyne, toured the United States and Canada in an RV before settling permanently at the Cocopah RV and Golf Resort in Yuma, AZ in 2004.
There, he continued to pursue his passion for golf and researching his family genealogy. He was a talented craftsman and repaired, refinished and built many pieces of furniture. He also made stained glass panels that adorn most of the windows in their Arizona home.
He enjoyed bridge, morning coffee with his cronies at the Pro Shop, and keeping up with the Denver Broncos and the University of Wyoming Cowboys. Charlie is survived by his wife, Darlyne, of almost 59 years; daughter, Carol Sue (JP) Lanham, Los Angeles, CA; sons, Chuck Koch, Denver, CO, Tom (Lisa) Koch, Morrison, CO, and David Koch, Los Angeles, CA; grandchildren, Katie Rouw, Kelsey, Zac and Libby Koch, Skye, Cheyenne, Conner, and Danielle Koch; brother, Howard (Kathy) Koch, Mandan, ND, and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Innocenz and Celestine, brothers, Nick, Luke, Mike, Ralph, Jake, John, and Roy; and sisters, Rose Kendzur, Margaret Young, Catherine Kornegay and Minnie Howe.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the University of Mary Foundation. Please go to his Tribute Wall to sign the guestbook and share memories with his family.
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