Beth Wood Koch Obituary (1929 - 2014)

Beth Wood Koch was reunited with her sweetheart and eternal companion Robert Bates Koch on May 8, 2014 when she passed away peacefully of natural causes. Born on September 25, 1929 to Laura Villetta Cowley & Alan Gentry Wood. She grew up in Salt Lake City with her sister Donna and brother Bob. Beth graduated from East High and then attended the University of Utah where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. She graduated with her teaching degree and taught 2nd grade. Beth was a trail blazer and was the first female to have a paper route in Salt Lake City. Bob and Beth grew up in the same neighborhood and met in high school when Bob hired her to sell his homemade face cream door to door. Their relationship was put on hold while Bob served a mission to Uraguay. They were married June 11, 1951 in the Salt Lake Temple. Beth was a righteous daughter of our Heavenly Father and decided she would accept the most important role in life, that of a mother. Together they raised 8 children and built several businesses in which she was always very involved. Beth was given opportunities to serve others through many years of church service. She enjoyed serving in Young Women, Relief Society, Primary and also devoted 20 years of service with Bob in the Jordan River Temple Baptistery. She served in many positions, but her favorite was being with the Young Women and especially Girls camp. Beth was adventurous and spent time with her children up in the mountains, camping, hiking water and snow skiing. She even learned to scuba dive when some of her boys wanted to learn and the instructor said they needed to have an adult. She recognized the importance of establishing strong family traditions. A favorite is our Memorial Day weekend at Zions National Park where over the years the family has grown together as we played, learned to love nature and shared our testimonies. We always knew we were loved by our Mother unconditionally. She always had a positive "go get em" attitude and never wavered in her beliefs in the Savior. Her love and drive to keep the family together will always be with us and will remind us that families are truly together forever. She was the most important person to our father and we knew it. Bob and Beth were soul mates. She was a wonderful example of a righteous, humble and Christ - like woman. We will miss her but her great influence will continue through her family legacy. Survived by her 8 children, Robert (Julie), Jeff (Tamra), Steve (Claudette), Greg (Susan), Brent (Jana), Susan (John) Holland, Kristine (Dan) Sampson, James (Cheri), Silvia (Pedro) Cano, 36 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and sister Donna (Reid) Johnson. Preceded in death by her husband Bob, father and mother, brother Bob Wood and grandson Nathan. Funeral services will be held on Monday, May 12, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at River Ridge 4th Ward Chapel, 1244 W. Chavez Drive, South Jordan, Utah. Viewings will be held on Sunday from 3:00 – 6:00 pm at Jenkins-Soffe South Valley, 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway (10600 So.) and on Monday at the church from 8:30 – 9:30 am prior to services. Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. Thank you to Shauna, Melissa, Carrie, Tammy and Becky from Silverado Hospice and Shalece from Aeri Home Care for their genuine love and gentle care of our dear sweet mother. Funeral Home: Jenkins-Soffe South Valley 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway South Jordan, UT 84095