James Koehler

James (Jim) Robert Koehler passed away at the age of 92 on April 24, 2022. A true Greeley native, Jim was born at the Weld County Hospital on January 6, 1930 to Conrad and Mary Koehler and was raised on farms around the Greeley area with his siblings, Mary Lou, Bill, and Marlene. He graduated from Greeley High School in 1947. A proud Wildcat, Jim was active in sports, Future Farmers of America, Student Council, and President of the Boys Athletic Association.

Besides his two years of service in the Army from 1953-1955, Jim spent his entire life tending to the farmland of Weld County. Jim and his brother, Bill Koehler, fed cattle and farmed from 1955-2010. Jim retired from farming at the age of 80, but he could still be found helping fellow farmers, feeding cattle in the pasture, and maintaining the structures on his family farm for almost a decade after that. He was active in 4-H, including serving as the President of the Weld County 4-H Council and Colorado 4-H Council. Jim was passionate about protecting farmers’ water rights and ensuring that they had adequate water to farm. He served for over 30 years on the Cache La Poudre Irrigation and Reservoir Companies and for 20 years on the Windsor Reservoir Company. He was also a board member for the Producers Livestock Credit Corporation.

Jim loved sports of all kinds. He was an avid bowler and fast pitch softball player. When he wasn’t playing, he enjoyed watching (and armchair coaching!) the Colorado Rockies and Denver Broncos. He coached his daughters’ softball teams, which he took a lot more seriously than the girls he coached! In his later years, Jim could be found attending his grandchildren’s sporting events and cheering from the sidelines.

Jim had a heart for animals big and small. After feeding cattle for 55 years, he turned his attention to feeding other animal visitors to his farm. Perhaps the most well-fed was his Black Lab, Molly, who hit the jackpot when she wandered onto his farm in 2013. Molly and Jim were inseparable- when Jim got in the truck, so did Molly. When Jim got a McDonalds hamburger, so did Molly. And when Jim went to bed at night, Molly went to bed right alongside him. Molly passed away in December and Jim requested that her ashes be buried with his.

Nothing was more important to Jim than his family. Jim married his first wife, Betty Johnson, and they had three children together: Jody, Janet, and Jimmy. He would later become a grandfather to Kelsey, Brody, Logan, Karlee, and Dillan and most recently a great-grandfather to Emerie and Koehler. Jim was the rock of his family, always there through every trial and tribulation. He modeled for his family the meaning of hard work, humility, strength, generosity, and sacrifice. He was a man of few words, but his love was evident in all he did.

Jim is survived by his daughters, Jody Jones and Janet (Jim) Brown, five grandchildren, Kelsey Jones, Brody (Melissa) Jones, Logan (Jayne) Jones, Karlee (Bill) Brandenburg, and Dillan Ward, two great-grandchildren, Emerie Jones and Koehler Brandenburg, and his sister, Marlene Droegemueller. He is preceded in death by his son, James (Jimmy) Koehler, first wife, Betty Johnson Koehler, brother, Bill Koehler, sister, Mary Lou Churches, mother, Mary Kerbel Koehler, and father, Conrad Koehler.

A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at the Allnutt Funeral Home at 6521 W. 20th St. in Greeley at 11:00 am on Saturday, April 30, 2022. Memorial donations may be directed to the Wild Animal Sanctuary, United Way of Weld County, or the Weld Food Bank.