Duane L. Koch, 60, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Koch’s Turkey Farms, died June 30.
Koch was born October 2, 1956, in Coaldale, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 1974, and went on to become a pioneer of antibiotic-free and organic growing practices in the poultry industry. He was a member of the National Turkey Federation, PennAg, and Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.
Koch was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed archery, hunting, and fishing. He was a member of Lone Pine Fish Club of Middleport. He also was a member of the Schuylkill Valley Corvette Club, and had just finished restoring his classic 1970 Corvette.
He is survived by his parents, Lowell R. Koch and Elizabeth M. (Billig) Koch; wife, Terry A. (Moyer) Koch; one daughter, Jessica E. (Sean) Kellner; one son, Brandon L. (Melissa) Koch; three sisters, Barbara Koch, Beth (David) Argall, and Pam (Samuel) Williams; one grandchild, Deanna E. Folk; three stepchildren, Laura (Joseph) Faenza, Kristen Behr, and Glenn (Lindsey) Behr; one step-grandchild, Connor Faenza, and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be Saturday, July 8, 2017, at 11 a.m. at E. Franklin Griffiths Funeral Home & Cremation Services Inc. in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Friday and on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. Interment will be in Sky-View Memorial Park in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.
Memorials may be made to the Lone Pine Fish Club in Brockton, Pennsylvania, or Tamaqua/Carbon American Cancer Society in Frackville, Pennsylvania.