A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Joseph Church, West Orange on April 8 at 10:30 a.m.
Thomas was predeceased by his wife of 60 years, Virginia. He leaves behind his children Michael of Cherry Hill, NJ, Mark (Barbara) of West Orange, and Margaret Rose (Robert) of Cary, IL, and his sister Mary of Peshtigo, WI. He was predeceased by his son, John, and daughter-in-law, Janet. He was also predeceased by his brothers Anthony, George, Paul, David, Richard, Robert, James, and Karl.
Thomas was born in Appleton, Wisconsin on January 18, 1928 where he lived until he enlisted in the Army. Upon discharge, he graduated from University of Wisconsin – Madison. He then began a career of over 30 years with Travelers Insurance Company which took him to Rochester, NY (where he met his bride-to-be, Virginia) and Detroit, MI before eventually settling in West Orange in 1962.
Thomas was an active parishioner at St. Joseph Church in West Orange where he was an active parent school volunteer and a member of the Holy Name Society. He was a member of the choir and also served as lector and usher.
For over 50 years, the Koehnes have been a foster family for Peter Harley, who is developmentally disabled as a result of the Rubella outbreak of 1964. Their devotion to Peter evolved into Virginia being a co-founder, with Mary O’Donnell, of the New Jersey Association of the Deaf-Blind (now Everas Community Service), where she served as a board member for over 25 years and Thomas devoted countless hours
He was the loving grandfather of James and Emily Koehne, Lauren Rose Geyer, Christian and Katherine Rose, and Kirsten and Thomas Koehne.
Please honor Thomas’ memory by making donations to Everas Community Services, 24K World’s Fair Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873.
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