Obituary of John William Koch
John William Koch, 88, resident of Basking Ridge
John William Koch, resident of Basking Ridge, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, May 15, surrounded by his family, at the age of 88.
He was born on August 9, 1929, in Dover, New Jersey to parents William and Esther Koch.
John was a graduate of the University of Delaware, majoring in Chemical Engineering. Following graduation, he joined the US Air force and trained as a jet fighter pilot. He returned to the University of Delaware and earned his Masters degree in Physics. He was President of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He also joined the Delaware Air National Guard as Captain. He married Carolyn Brown, who was an undergraduate at the University of Delaware. They had a daughter, Tamara B. Koch.
Following graduation from Delaware, John and family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he attended the University of Michigan to obtain his PhD in Physics. His PhD studies led him and his family to La Paz, Bolivia where he completed his thesis for his doctorate. While in Bolivia, another daughter, Wendy H. Koch was born. The family lived in Bolivia for 2 years.
Upon returning to the United States, he was employed as Research Physicist at Harvard University Electron Accelerator in Cambridge and the family lived in Hingham, Massachusetts for 8 years. Then, the family moved to New Jersey, where John worked at Rutgers University Electron Accelerator . Later, he worked at Bell Labs, Whippany, NJ as Distinguished Member of Technical Staff until his retirement.
John was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He enjoyed singing in the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church choir for over 40 years, sailing with his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, on Long Island Sound and spending annual vacations at a family cabin in Minnesota. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughter, Tammy and son-in-law Fred Williams and their children, Brent and Christopher and great grandchildren, Corbin, Collin and Clara; and other daughter, Wendy Brown and grandchildren Melissa and Lindsay Brown.
He was predeceased by his brother, Richard B. Koch.
There will be a visitation from 4-7pm on Tuesday, May 29th at Gallaway and Crane funeral home in Basking Ridge. The funeral service will be held the following day, Wednesday, May 30th at 11am at Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church, 45 Church Street, Liberty Corner, NJ., followed by burial and reception at the Church. For further information, please visit www.gcfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either the Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund or the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Somerset Hills at https://www.visitingnurse.org.
The family would like to thank friends and family for their love, support, prayers and kind wishes.