Loretta J Koontz

Loretta Jane Koontz, 78, passed away on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. Loretta was born August 16th, 1943, in Hamtramck, MI, to the late LaVern and Anna LaLone Blough. On June 5th, 1993, Lorette married Dan Koontz who survives. Also surviving are her children, Lori Duda, John (Kathy) Duda and Paul (Lisa) Duda; stepchildren, Jamie (Chris) Evangelisti, Carrie (Aaron) Gaines and Katie Koontz; 9 grandchildren, Eric, Alex, Steven, Molly, Gabrielle, Britney, Chris, Alison and Anna; and a brother, Michael Blough.
Loretta was 1962 graduate of Mishawaka High School. She was a married mom with three children with a passion to be involved with the schools, community and be the liaison for people who needed their voices heard. Her career started with serving on the PTA board for Oliver School to become President of PTA. She was asked to co-chair as Roger Parent's bid for Mayor for South Bend. After that she became department head for the Mayor's office as neighborhood coordinator and environmental director. She then served two terms as Councilman-At-Large. During her two terms on the council, Loretta provided the citizens of South Bend with three critical ordinances that were for the best interests of the public.
Open Container Law
Contractor's Registration Ordinance
No city leaf burning
In the beginning of her council days, she traveled to Seattle, Washington to a conference for recycling and brought back valuable information and new programs that we have today for our recycling programs. She then was asked to be City Clerk for South Bend. During her two terms as City Clerk, Loretta and her staff had an impeccable record with the state board of accounts. She also performed 25 weddings. Loretta took great pride in returning money back to the general fund while maintain excellent service for the citizens of South Bend. Loretta never ran for a position she was not asked to run for and her goal was to always accomplish something good for her constituents.
While serving the city of South Bend, Loretta also made sure her three children were well educated, two graduating from Purdue and one from The Art Institute of Phoenix. She was a caring, loving, and generous mother that made many sacrifices for her children.
Later in her retirement years, she started making bracelets and was selling them in five different shops in the area. Her goal was to make women happy one easy-to-put-on bracelet at a time. Her talents also included drawing, knitting, sewing, and playing golf at Robinhood with the girls.
While at a conference in Indianapolis she met a Mishawaka Councilman and they became the love of each other's lives.
Loretta and her husband Dan often traveled to Florida to play golf in the winter months. She loved walking the beach and collecting shells and rocks. She was a wonderful cook and companion to her husband.
Special Thanks to her caregiver, Julie Torma, she was an angel from God.
Visitation will be 5-7 pm on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, in Hahn Funeral Home in Mishawaka with a funeral service to begin at 7 pm.
Contributions can be made to: Alzheimer's & Dementia Services of Northern Indiana, Inc., 922 E Colfax Ave, South Bend, IN 46617, (888) 303-0180
To leave an online condolence or to share a memory, please visit www.hahnfuneralhomes.com.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Loretta, please visit our floral store.