Jeffrey L. Koch

Jeff was my brother and my best friend, and he will be sorely missed. The memorial service was well attended by family and friends. The reality of losing him is just starting to hit and I'm afraid it's going to take quite some time to get over my grief. Jeff was loved by everyone that knew him, as can be seen by reading the entries in this guest book.

Jeff was born in 1954 in Cleveland, Ohio, but was relocated at a young age to Detroit, Michigan, to live with his aunt and uncle. But Jeff thrived in Detroit, making lots of friends and forming several bands in which he played lead guitar. Several of his friends kept in touch with Jeff over the years, especially Paula Pinnick. She would come down to Cleveland with Jeff when he came to visit during summer vacation and they were inseparable up in Detroit.

I moved to San Antonio in December 1979, and Jeff and my parents followed a couple of years later, probably to get away from the harsh winters. Jeff lived with me for a while, until he met his future wife, Lelynn. Jeff moved in with Lelynn, got married and started a family. They had two beautiful children, Aubrey and Adam, who are both doing very well today in their studies. Jeff went to school to study the culinary arts and got a job as a prep cook in a very well-known restaurant on the Riverwalk. He continued to work there for years until his condition made it difficult for him to continue.

Even after Jeff retired, he loved to get out and go to movies and restaurants. During the last few months, it became difficult for him to get out, so I would go over and order a pizza and watch movies with him. He was always in good spirits, and quite a jokester up until the end.

Jeff was a great guitarist and cook. But more than that, he was a great friend, devoted father, and loving husband, who was loved by all. We all miss you very much, baby brother, and you will remain in a warm place in our hearts forever.

It's always difficult to hear that one of your peers has passed away, but Jeff was like the little brother we never had in the Pinnick family. I'm not sure how he wandered into our lives, but for quite a while he was a big part of our family. I can close my eyes and see him sitting cross-legged playing his guitar, getting lost in his music. Because of Jeff I was given an education and appreciation of so many thing from The Who, Frank Zappa, The Ghoul, and midnight rides on the Gemini at Cedar Point. He was talented, funny..... he was an old soul in so many ways. So happy you shared part of your life with us in Michigan, and so happy you found your wonderful wife and family in Texas. Paula's daughter was married last weekend, and on the way home from the wedding, Behind Blue Eyes came on the radio......I know you were saying good bye. Heartfelt love and prayers to your friends who will miss you, and your family, who will be sending a big piece of their hearts with you.

I am so sad about Jeff's passing. We first met in Michigan in our teens, and although he moved away many yrs ago, we continued our friendship & still kept in touch. He has been a very dear friend to me, and I am truly going to miss our phone calls every few months just to check in and say "Hi". I feel bad that I live so far away and won't be able to make it to the service to pay my respects, so I will do my best to do it here.

Jeff loved his family, was proud of his long marriage to LeLynn, and his children Aubrey & Adam. Even though his daughter Aubrey is a grown woman, with a daughter of her own, he still always referred to her enthusiastically as "my pretty little girl", and his granddaughter Chloe as "my cute little grand baby"! ...which I found so endearing and sweet. I could always hear pure joy in his voice when he talked about his family.

His brother Jerry has always been near & dear to Jeff, and the model "big brother", any sibling would love to have. Early on you could see that Jeff looked up to him... Back in his teen years you could tell that Jeff thought of Jerry as the 'cool' older brother. Later you could see him become Jeff's mentor & friend. When Jeff lived in Michigan, he really looked forward to his visits back home to Garfield Hgts., OH, and the opportunity to learn some new guitar licks from Jerry. At first it was all about rock & roll riffs, but later Jerry got Jeff interested in playing "classical guitar". It was amazing to see Jeff's dedication to expanding his talents in a new direction, and he had his big bro. to thank for that. I remember Jerry teaching him (what I think is the 1st classical piece Jeff mastered) a piece called "Spanish Ballad". Jeff spent hrs. & hrs., playing that piece over & over again until he finally perfected it. It became my favorite song to request of Jeff, and he played it absolutely beautifully! I've had the pleasure of seeing Jeff & Jerry play guitar together... both very talented musicians and it was always a real treat. Over time it went from Hendrix & Dylan, to classical, jazz and even ragtime music. I have Jeff to thank for broadening my horizons in regards to appreciating many types and styles of music. And Jeff has Jerry to thank for being inspired to further hone his talents, and the exposure to guitarist like Joe Pass, and Charlie Christian.

Jeff was quite a character, very social, and had many friends. His gentle ways, kind nature, and sense of humor made it easy to get along with him. Although he really was quite the 'lead' guitar player, and was known to have some mean riffs... it never went to his head. He remained humble and never felt the need to show off or brag. Hanging with him expanded my social life exponentially. He had neighborhood buddies, his high school friends, his band friends (aka the "Haywood Hoods"), and his Ohio friends. He introduced me to some of his favorite Ohio things: the "Down Under" and Royal Hassle (Castle) restaurant- Charlie's potato chips- the Ghoul show- and Parma (overday!). He loved to play pinball.... and actually became somewhat of a pinball wizard (probably driven by his love of Townsend & the Who). And he liked to dabble in the kitchen long before his attending culinary school in TX. Ask anyone who knew him well and they'll know about his signature late night creations like the "Iron Cross" (fried bologna) sandwich, or throwing together a pizza with odd toppings like sliced hot dogs on top...Yes, hot dogs!!! .... He was a character... he was fun to know.

For all his Michigan friends, (and there are a lot here that remember him in an endearing way) ... please know he remembered you all very fondly too. He often asked about the old gang & enjoyed reminiscing about the old times back here in "the Clem". So, for those of you like myself that I know would attend the service tomorrow if they could, maybe take a moment tomorrow at 2:00 and and as a tribute to Jeff, go to Youtube and listen to "Behind Blue Eyes" by the Who- a song our blue eyed friend loved; the classical song "Spanish Ballad" that Jeff played so exceptionally well; and "Blackbird" by the Beatles, another song that Jeff spent hours learning, and much requested to play for us at parties because it was a pretty hefty & impressive song for a self taught 'garage band' boy and we were wowed by Jeff's talent, and ability to play it. ....I hope your broken wings take you straight to heaven Jeff. Thank you for all the great memories- know that you enriched the lives of many people- and may you rest peacefully.

Jeff was one of the kindest sweetest jokesters I have ever met.I remember hitch-hiking with Jeff from Detroit to visit his folks in Shaker Heights Ohio(I think) yeah we were pretty crazy at 15 or 16 years. I still have the classical guitar I bought 40 some years from him. I still play it and it is still awesome sounding! I did trade a Gibson SG Deluxe I had also bought from Jeff a couple of years ago. Yeah, the deal was I buy the guitars and he gives a few lessons.

We all grew up together on a suburban Cleveland Ohio street in the fifties and sixties. We listened to everyone's mother and father as if they were our own. As one of the younger boys Jeff learned all the secrets of how to get away with stuff from the older boys. Of course he had to take a lot of crap from the rest of us as a consequence in order to receive that know-how. We are very proud to have had him as a friend.

We did not personally know Jeff but I have the pleasure of working with Lelynn. I know we would have liked him as they both have similar interests in the outdoors as both my husband and I have. Blessings to the family, Joe and Jan Pine

I have very fond memories of playing music with Jeff in his early Michigan days. We played together in our high school years ('72-'73) in a Rock-n-Roll band, the Haywood Empire. I was really green and Jeff taught me many things about playing guitar. He was THE biggest WHO fan back then. Jeff was writing his own rock opera, a-la "Tommy."
About six years later we formed Garden Gate and did an acoustic duet gig for a few years ('79-'81,) Jeff had become a very, very good guitar player by then.
Jeff moved to San Antonio after that an we only saw each other 2 or 3 times when he came back for a visit. I called him about 3 or 4 years ago, and he gave me a recipe for Salsa Verde. On May 10th, I was looking for a number on my contact list. Without my glasses!! When I put my glasses on, I realized Jeff's phone number was where I had stopped. It made me think "I need to give my old bud a call!" I suppose he was saying "so long."
Happy trails to you, until we meet again buddy! Greg Dubay