This is the last one for a while…this is all of the pictures I have right now!
This is about my Dad’s parents,
Ernst Koch (1917) and Mary Jean Larkin Koch (1921)
They were married around 1940. Ernie joined the Army in early 1942 and my dad, Robert Ernest Koch, was born July 12, 1942.
Ernie got a short leave to see my Dad when he was born, and then he was stationed in the South Pacific for the majority of the next 3 years. My Dad was born in Santa Barbara, CA, where my Grandma lived while my Grandpa was overseas. She eventually moved back to Minnesota to be closer to her family.
This is my Dad!
Grandma Jean and “Bobby” on his 1st birthday
We found many photos that had inscriptions on the back from Grandma Jean to Grandpa Ernie while he was overseas – this was one:
She had this professional photo taken of she and my Dad to send to Grandpa Ernie.
My Dad around age 3?
My Grandpa Ernie received a purple heart for being injured by stepping on a land mine. We found this telegraph in the box, informing my Grandma that my Grandpa had been injured.
Grandpa Ernie returned not long after that. Shorty after that, Richard “Dick” joined their family in 1946. They lived in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. My Grandpa worked for car dealerships and gas stations. My Grandma eventually went to work for Weyerhaeuser in St. Paul.
My Dad graduated from Stillwater Area High School in 1960. That summer, the family relocated to Tacoma, WA with Weyerhaeuser. My Mom always points out how interesting that the family would move halfway across the country to follow the woman’s job in 1960, which is true!
Dick graduated in 1964 from Lakes High School in Tacoma. Tragically, he was killed in a car accident in 1967.
I have this photo framed in my bedroom. My Mom said it was Grandma Jean’s “official” Weyerhaeuser photo.
I just like this one too.
This was Grandpa Ernie and Grandma Jean’s house in Tacoma that I remember going to as a little girl. Our family lived a few blocks away until I was 3 1/2.
I love this one too!
Grandpa Ernie and his BFF Elmer Dittman.
They were back door neighbors in Lake Elmo. My parents would stay with them when they went to Minnesota until Elmer and his wife Hilda both passed away.
My parent’s wedding picture – 1977
Spokane, WA
This is me with Grandpa Ernie and Grandma Jean, around 1981.
Christmas 1985: Grandpa Ernie and Grandma Jean with their grandkids:
Bobby, Tara, me, and Melissa
Bobby’s senior picture – 1983
He passed away in 1987.
Tara’s senior picture - 1988
Grandpa Ernie also passed away in 1987 from cancer; Grandma Jean in 1996, also from cancer.
My Dad is now the oldest living member of his Koch/Larkin family, as the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family.
There you have it – the Koch family history in 3 parts!
Now, onto my Mom’s side: the Heiders, Sackmanns, Gusts, and Lobes!
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