Kenneth John Koehler

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Kenneth John Koehler on December 4, 2025, in Rochester, NY.

Ken was born on May 28, 1948 in Passaic, New Jersey. He attended Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), where he earned two Masters degrees in physics and electrical engineering. A dedicated employee, Ken was proud of his career at IBM as a computer engineer. He was an engineer by nature, through and through – logical, literal and practical. His engineering background came out at home where he supported Linda's genealogical research with cutting-edge technology, scanning thousands of photos and documents and ensuring her research was well backed up. Whenever his kids had a question, they could depend on their dad to thoroughly research it and email them a detailed breakdown of everything he had found (references included). He was always willing to put in the extra time to make sure things were done right – from building bookcases to mapping out electrical systems. He was also honest to a fault, ethical, generous, and kind - and pretty disgusted with the current administration.

He met his wife Linda Crowley at Tufts and they married in June 1970. Shortly afterward, they moved to Burlington, VT where she worked as a school librarian while he began his career at IBM. His job at IBM took them to Poughkeepsie, NY, where they raised their kids Abby and Matt in a house filled with lots of laughter and a fair number of math problems. His marriage to Linda was built on mutual respect and trust, with their love never more evident than when they went on their nightly walks around the neighborhood while holding hands.

He always took great pride in his family and was very protective of them. He was especially devoted to his beloved granddaughters, Josie and Bea, as happy to have tea parties and don silly hats for them as he was teaching them about space and math. Throughout his life, that balance of humor, love, and curiosity defined this man who meant so much to so many.

Ken was preceded in death by his parents, John A. and Neta (Brozek) Koehler, his brother Curt Koehler and sister Kim (Koehler) Athearn. He is survived by his wife Linda, son Matthew (Suzanne Cashmere) Koehler, daughter Abigail (Casey Colombo) Koehler, and two granddaughters, Josephine and Beatrix Koehler. He is also survived by his sister Janine (Koehler) Crossland, niece and nephew Sarah (Matthew) MacFarland and Tom (Mackenzie King) Crossland; sister-in-law Denise Wylie-Kellerman and nephew and niece Ben Koehler and Cora (Johnny) DiDomenico; and brother-in-law Jim Athearn.

Services will be held at a later date in the Spring.