Erin M. Koch

Erin Marie Koch, the daughter of James and Rita Casby, was born October 3, 1966, at San Jose, California. She passed away Tuesday, February 27, 2018, at the Crawford County Memorial Hospital in Denison, Iowa, at the age of fifty-one.
Erin was baptized as an infant and confirmed at St. Thomas of Canterbury in Saratoga, California. She received her education in Saratoga, California and graduated from Prospect High School in 1984. She furthered her education at DeAnza College in Cupertino, California, receiving an associates degree in nursing. She began working as a registered nurse at Elcomino Hospital in Mountain View, California. She subsequently moved to Arizona and was employed at Mesa Hospital in Mesa, Arizona and at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. After moving to Iowa in 2005, she started working at Crawford County Memorial Hospital, where she was the director of the cardiac rehab department.
She met her future husband, Charles Koch, when they were both walking their dogs at a dog park in California while she was living in California and he was stationed there in the Navy. They continued their relationship over the years and Erin and Charles were united in marriage December 3, 2005, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Kiron, Iowa. They lived on an acreage southeast of Kiron and were blessed with the birth of two sons.
Erin was a very caring and compassionate person which was shown to the many patients she cared for throughout the years of her nursing career. The family pets, as well as the “strays” that wandered onto their yard, also benefitted from her kindness as she lovingly fed them and provided for their daily needs. First and foremost in her life, however, was her family. She was a loving daughter, wife and mother. She encouraged her sons in all their activities whether it be school, community or sporting events, making many trips to the Kiron Park so the boys could play and ride their bikes. Her faith was very important to her and she strongly wanted her boys to grow up in the faith. Erin was an excellent cook, especially being remembered for her French silk pies and her baked beans, which she was always asked to bring to all the family gatherings.
Watching movies, especially crime and action films with her father, baking with her mother, reading, hiking, white water rafting, fishing, exercising, gardening, watching the food network and going to the casino were her favorite leisure time activities. She enjoyed listening to country music, especially Vince Gill, and she and Charles attended many music concerts.
Erin was preceded in death by her mother, Rita and her father-in-law, Elroy. Survivors include: her husband, Charles; two sons, Alex and Zachary; her father, James and friend, Carol; two brothers, Brian and wife, Shara, and Chris and wife, Micka; mother-in-law, Barb; brother-in-law, Tom and wife, Donna; sister-in-law, Marcy and husband, Scott; nieces; nephews; other relatives and friends.