Christopher Howland Koehler

Christopher Howland Koehler of Decatur, Georgia, passed on to his great reward, in his own bed at his "Estate" on March 6, 2025, at the age of 82. He was born in Independence, Missouri, on August 5, 1942, to Howland and Barbara Bailey Koehler.

An intellectual, Chris was hilarious, grouchy, fun-loving, well-read, cynical, and iconoclastic. Chris was an avid political news watcher, epicurean, music collector, fisherman, hunter, writer, and bread baker. Chris aka Poppy, Dad and Buck Weird was completely enamored with his grandchildren, Cape Cod summers, and his dog Tex.

Chris grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, with his parents and three brothers. He attended Sanford B. Ladd Elementary where he met his lifelong friend, Thad Bounds. He was so proud to earn his spot on the Emil Benson Comets baseball team. Chris attended Raytown High where he played football, swam, acted, and snuck out of the house at night to race cars and occasionally get into fist fights. Chris attended Graceland College and the University of Missouri, where he studied psychology and met the love of his life, Eleanor Marion West, to whom he was married for almost 62 years, after he "snowed her with his cool."

Chris started his own business with a cigar stand, gave it a go as a restaurateur when he opened the Dinner Bell Diner but eventually followed in his father's footsteps and went to work for the government. In 1968 he was invited to Atlanta to do some "exciting work" for the newly formed Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. This entailed school desegregation work in the rural south. Side benefits included having his tires slashed, his family threatened by mysterious callers, and crosses burned outside of his hotel rooms. Chris also worked for Head Start, Mayor Sam Massell and then Governor, Jimmy Carter, helping to reorganize the State of Georgia's government. Among his many achievements there were creating the State's intern program and teaching Carter's staffers how to make a decent hangover cure.

Later Chris served as the Deputy Regional Inspector General in the Office of Evaluation and Inspections for HHS. His main assignments were catching doctors who embezzled from Medicare and exposing durable medical equipment fraud. Chris also conducted numerous studies for the NIH, the results of which were not released to the public. Once Chris sneaked into the CDC Ebola Lab with a self-made ID.

In his time off he enjoyed coaching youth football and girls' softball. After retirement, Chris enjoyed fishing, playing poker with the Inman Park Poker Club and hunting in Coweta County with his best friend, Earl Forsythe.

Chris loved watching the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Flames, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Georgia Bulldogs. He loved live music, appreciating almost all genres from Ray Charles to Little Feat, Mother's Finest to the Rolling Stones.

Chris and Eleanor split their time living between Atlanta winters and Cape Cod summers. Chris liked to sit at Hawk's Nest Pond drinking a clam digger and smoking a cigar, while his dog Tex terrorized the local residents. Chris loved spending his evenings with Eleanor cheering on the Y-D Red Sox in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Chris is survived by many people who loved him dearly enough to put up with his eccentricities and moods. Chris often said he had out-punted his coverage when he married Eleanor. He wasn't wrong. He is grieved by daughters Jennifer Mackall (Parker), Christine Koehler, and Gretchen Mann (Greg).

Chris's prides and joys were his grandchildren Christopher Carter (Kelli), Nicholas Carter (Beth), Savannah Couch and Sierra Koehler; and his great-grandson, Theodore Christopher Carter, and second great-grandson, whom he knew was coming September 2025.

Chris is survived by his wife, Eleanor, brother Stephen Koehler (Cherry), and his sisters-in-law, Linda and Karen Koehler, along with many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Bruce and John Koehler and nephews David Koehler and Aeron Babcock.

He lived a full and interesting life, and he had the stories to prove it. Chris defied death many times with the help of his beloved friend and physician, Adam Leaderman. In the words of his niece, Gita Beach, "We learned so many things you loved, because of your love of sharing them with us."

Per his wishes Chris's ashes will be spread on Cape Cod this summer. A celebration of Chris's life will be held at the Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Family and friends are invited to join us from 2:00-5:00 p.m. The family apologizes in advance to Chris for being unable to book The Rolling Stones to play live, as requested. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Chris may be made to NETWorks Cooperative Ministry at www.networkscoop.org

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