Catherine Joy (Kinneer) Koontz

The pillar of our family, Catherine Joy Koontz (nee Kinneer) passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Joy, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, was the second of three daughters born to Fredrick Marion and Kathryn (Donoghue) Kinneer of Dayton, Ohio. Born in Murray City, Ohio on June 28, 1935, she spent much of her childhood in the rolling hills and woodlands of southeastern Ohio, before her father, a WWI veteran, and family moved to Dayton, Ohio. Her father worked as a B-1 bomb-site mechanic at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base until his untimely death in 1960. Joy met the love of her life, her husband of nearly 63 years, James L Koontz, in high school. They both graduated from Patterson Cooperative High School in 1953. Joy was the valedictorian of her class. While in school Joy worked as a model for Rikes Department Store in Dayton. After graduation she worked at GMAC as an executive secretary until the birth of her first child. She is survived by her husband, James L Koontz, former CEO, Kingsbury Corporation in Keene, NH and her four children who were the focus of her life; Mark Lehman Koontz, Jill Ann Koontz, Jennifer Leigh Duff (and husband Thomas Duff) and Bradley James Koontz (and wife Tomo Koontz). Joy has 6 grandchildren who were the light of her life; James Francois Koontz, Thomas Albert Duff, Emmaline Elizabeth Duff, Noel Barrett Duff, Sophie Joy Duff and Isamu Lehman Koontz. She was predeceased by her adored sisters Eunice Ann Kinneer Langley (and Joseph Langley) and Jenny Grace Kinneer Elliott and further survived by her sister Jenny's husband, Charles "Ron" Elliott and her sister's children; Timothy Langley and his wife Molly, Michelle Langley Burneka and her husband Charles, Jeffrey Elliott and his wife Lori, Kim Elliott Johnson and her husband Larry, Kevin Elliott and his wife Brigid, Eric Elliott and his wife Terri. Joy loved her family and her family will miss her dearly. Joy had a lifelong passion for the arts; music, theater and art. She also loved to learn and share what she learned with others. In the late 1970's she founded the F.A.C.T.S. (Famous Artists Come to School) program in Birmingham, Michigan where she and Jim lived at the time. She introduced the program to the Keene Public Schools when they moved to New Hampshire in 1979. Joy also served on the board of the following organizations for many years: Dublin School, (Dublin NH), Thorne-Sagendorph Art Museum, Colonial Theater, Kingsbury Fund and Prospect-Woodward Home (all in Keene, NH). Joy and Jim also loved to travel, on their own or with their dear friends. Together they traveled to every continent. Joy's favorite place to visit was Paris, France. There was a graveside service and burial at St. Patrick's Cemetery, 120 Elm St, Stoneham, Massachusetts on Friday, March 16, 2018 at 12:00 PM. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 28, 2018 at 10:00AM at St. Mary's Church, 9 Herbert St. Melrose, MA 02176 and will continue at Bellevue Country Club, 320 Porter St. Melrose on Saturday following St. Mary's Church from 12:00pm - 4:00PM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend.