Richard Koehler

Funeral Information

The Funeral Service will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at Cross Lutheran Church with Rev. Timothy Loehrke, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery. VISITATION AT MEYERSIECK-BUSSEMA FUNERAL HOME, PIGEON: Tuesday, April 23 1-8 p.m. AND AT CROSS LUTHERAN CHURCH, PIGEON: - Wednesday, April 24 10-11 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to Cross Lutheran Church Building Fund or Scheurer Hospital Long Term Care. Memories, thoughts or prayers may be shared online at meyersieckbussemafuneralhome.com Richard’s family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Scheurer Hospital Long Term Care Unit for the support to our family and the love and care they provided to our father and husband.

Family of the Deceased

Richard is survived by his wife, Lillian; two sons, Richard (Peggy) Koehler of Pigeon and Rodney (Alice) Koehler of Traverse City; daughter, Laurie (Art) Britt of Caseville; four grandchildren, Brian Koehler of Mount Pleasant, Emily Gray Koehler (Kyle Axtell) of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Randy (Beth) Britt of Caseville, and Aaron (Chastity) Britt of Pigeon; and four great-grandchildren, Taylor and Hannah Britt of Caseville and Parker and Gage Britt of Pigeon. He is also survived by his brother, Allen (Betty) Koehler of Northport; brother-in-law, Mike (Gayle) Hnatiuk of Sanford; sisters-in-law, Elizabeth Smelts of Pigeon and Mary Ruth Hirak of Vermont; and many nieces and nephews.

Biography

Richard Arthur Koehler, age 81 of Pigeon, passed away Saturday, April 20, 2013 at Scheurer Hospital Long Term Care Unit with four generations of his family by his side. Richard was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 26, 1931. He was the son of the late August and Martha (Trost) Koehler of Pigeon. He attended Cross Lutheran School through the eighth grade and graduated from Pigeon High School in 1949. On December 29, 1951 he was united in marriage to the love of his life, Lillian Hnatiuk, at Cross Lutheran Church in Pigeon. Richard began farming with his father in his youth and continued in the agricultural industry at Paul’s International Harvester. After a number of years with Paul’s he moved into agricultural chemical sales throughout the state of Michigan until the mid 70’s. He retired from the insurance industry after a successful 25 years. Richard was a member of Cross Lutheran Church and served as a member of the church council. Richard delighted in spending time with his family and friends. He loved to travel and always looked forward to the annual family vacation. His children and grandchildren fondly remember these special times and have many interesting stories that will surely be passed on to his great-grandchildren. A highlight of his life was attending a family reunion in Bremen, Germany and visiting the home his father grew up in. In 2002 Richard was fortunate enough to fulfill his lifelong dream of vacationing in Alaska with Lillian, his brother Allen, and sister-in-law, Betty. An avid sportsman, Richard took almost as much pleasure in the pre-hunting activities of packing and strategizing as in the hunt itself. He enjoyed taking road trips, his favorites being Traverse City, the U.P. and all points in between.

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