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- Thomas Peter Koehne, 89, of West Orange, N.J., passed away on March 26, 2017. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Joseph Church, West Orange on April 8, at 10:30 a.m.
Thomas was born in Appleton, Wis., on Jan. 18, 1928, where he lived until he enlisted in the Army. Upon discharge, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Thomas then began a career of over 30 years with Travelers Insurance Company which took him to Rochester, N.Y. (where he met his bride-to-be, Virginia) and Detroit, Mich., before eventually settling in West Orange in 1962.
Thomas was an active parishioner at St. Joseph Church in West Orange, where he was an active parent school volunteer and a member of the Holy Name Society. He was a member of the choir and also served as lector and usher.
Thomas was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Virginia.
He leaves behind his children, Michael of Cherry Hill, NJ; Mark (Barbara) of West Orange, and Margaret Rose (Robert) of Cary, Ill., and his sister, Mary of Peshtigo, Wis.
He was predeceased by his son, John, and daughter-in-law, Janet; also by his brothers, Anthony, George, Paul, David, Richard, Robert, James, and Karl.
For over 50 years, the Koehnes had been a foster family for Peter Harley, who is developmentally disabled as a result of the Rubella outbreak of 1964. Their devotion to Peter evolved into Virginia being a co-founder, with Mary O'Donnell, of the New Jersey Association of the Deaf-Blind (now Everas Community Service), where she served as a board member for over 25 years and Thomas devoted countless hours.
He was the loving grandfather of James and Emily Koehne, Lauren Rose Geyer, Christian and Katherine Rose, and Kirsten and Thomas Koehne.
©Quinn Hopping Funeral Home notice
Published in Star-Ledger Apr. 4, 2017
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1928 - 2017 (89 years)