Edward F. Koch

Edward F. Koch, 92, of Niskayuna NY, passed away on May 19, 2023. Edward was born on August 1, 1930 to William and Florence Koch in Manhattan, NY.

Growing up in the throes of the depression, he helped provide for his family in Pleasant Valley by fishing, hunting, trapping, cutting firewood, and working as a farm laborer in the summer.

After graduating from High School he worked for a short time at Lumb’s Woodworking before matriculating at White Plains Technical College. His strong work ethic paid off. He graduated and traveled north with just a suitcase for all his possessions. He arrived in Schenectady and worked for General Electric. After only a year, he began working in the Metallurgy division where he became an expert on the electron microscope and co-authored many technical papers.

Edward met his future wife Emily at a church event. They married in 1955, moved to Goode St. in Burnt Hills, and went on to have 2 children, Mark and Bruce. In 1990 he retired from GE and dove deeper into his passions of wood carving and gardening. He had been woodcarving since the age of 18, creating ducks, birds, fish, and abstract sculptures, and still had many ongoing projects. In 2022 he donated over 200 fish carvings to the Saratoga Children’s Museum. He grew his own vegetables for Emily to use in her much-loved cooking and loved growing and photographing dahlias and lilies. He and Emily also joined the Empire State Capital Volkssporters. They were extremely active in ESCV, made a lot of close and lasting friendships, and Ed became famous for the "Koch cut."

Edward was predeceased by his wife Emily (2019) and sister Jeannette Spiers. Try as they might, his friends and family could never replace his dear Emily, and though they are both dearly missed, they are together again.

He is survived by his son Mark, daughter in-law Darcy, and granddaughter Anna; son Bruce, daughter in-law Sherry, and grandson Ethan; and 11 nephews and nieces.

Visitation will be held at Cannon Funeral Home on Saturday, June 17th from 10 a.m. to 11, with a service from 11 to noon, 2020 Central Avenue, Colonie. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Saratoga Children's Museum. To leave a message of condolence for the family please visit www.cannonfuneral.com.