Rosina Rae Koehn

Rae Koehn, 82, of Austin, Texas died on March 30, 2025. She was born in San Antonio, Texas to Lotis Weldon “Stoney” Phillips and Rosina Lee Buxton Phillips on August 21, 1942. She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, James “Jim” Howard Koehn, her parents and brother Robert Phillips. She is survived by her sister Nina Lee Phillips Persohn, daughter, Julie Kathryn Koehn Lane and son-in-law Robert Lloyd Lane II, son James Jeffrey Koehn and daughter-in-law, Kimberlee Anne Sitta Koehn, grandsons James Hutcheson Lane and Robert “Bobby” Lloyd Lane III, granddaughters Savannah Kathryn Koehn and Emilee Anne Koehn, nieces Laura Ann Persohn Truett, Shauna Persohn Martinich, Noel Phillips Laake, Ginger Phillips Truitt, Cathy Phillips Starnes, Sandy Phillips Dyson, numerous grandnephews and grandnieces, and a special group of life-long friends referred to as the “Gerries.”

Rae began life in Beeville and Harlingen, Texas as the first-born daughter of a high school coach. In 1951, her family moved to Pasadena, Texas where her Dad coached football and basketball, and was Athletic Director for the Pasadena Independent School District. After high school graduation, her parents insisted that she go to a small conservative college closer to home, but she had her heart set on the University of Texas. She stubbornly refused to get out of the car when her parents drove her to a college visit at Lamar University in Beaumont. Rae won that battle and ended up going to the University of Texas in Austin. Rae graduated early from UT in January 1964 with a BA in English.

Rae met the love of her life, Jim, on a blind date her freshman year at UT. She was impressed by his worldliness compared to other college boys as he grew up in multiple states as an Army brat. Their second date occurred when they ran into each other on campus, and Jim asked Rae to buy him a cup of coffee. She thought he was joking until she actually had to buy his coffee because he had run out of money for the month.

Jim and Rae married on July 17, 1964 while Jim was on a week-long furlough from the Army. They lived for a year in Fort Lewis, Washington until Jim left the Army to attend UT Law School in 1965. Upon law school graduation in 1968, Rae and Jim moved to Houston, Texas for Jim’s first job as a young lawyer, but soon moved back to Austin, Texas to raise their family. They moved to Fredericksburg, Texas during retirement and lived there for a few years while Jim served as Justice of the Peace. They later decided to come back to Austin Texas to be closer to their grandchildren.

Rae was a schoolteacher and day care director so that she could spend more time with her children. She went back to school to get her master’s degree in computer science at the age of 40. She then had an entire second career as a computer programmer and systems analyst, working for Texas Guaranteed Student Loans for years. Rae enjoyed tent camping in New Mexico and Colorado, motorcycle trips on the back of the bike with Jim, trips to Big Bend and San Miguel, Mexico, two-stepping at the Broken Spoke on Friday nights, making Two Generation Chili at the Ladies World Chili Cook-off in Luckenbach, Texas, playing bridge, playing golf and reading. She was smart, strong, independent, intuitive, stubborn to a fault, and fiercely loyal to her family. A special thank you to the nurses and staff at Belmont Village and the wonderful hospice nurses at Magnolia Hospice, who understood and appreciated Rae’s feistiness and took such good care of her.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Heart Gift (www.heartgift.org) or the charity of your choice. Services will be held at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on April 25, 2025 at 1:00 pm. where she will rest in peace with Jim.