Daniel A. Koechel

1939 - 2021

(News story) Daniel A. Koechel, a longtime pharmacology faculty member at Medical College of Ohio who for 31 consecutive years received honors for his teaching, died May 31 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio, South Detroit Avenue. He was 81.

He learned in 2014 that he had cardiac amyloidosis, in which a protein builds up in the heart, said his wife, Judy Koechel. With no treatment then available, doctors said the condition could be fatal within two years. But he then became part of a clinical trial for a drug, Vyndaqel, to stabilize the condition. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration since has approved the drug.

His own research had been on drugs to treat heart and kidney issues and, as a result, "he really embedded himself in the research part of what was going on," his wife said. He had detailed discussions with his physicians at the Cleveland Clinic.

"That's really a blessing, the fact that he survived so long and knew what was going on," his wife said. "He was a very active participant in his treatment. He always felt that what was happening to him if it was documented, and he documented it carefully, would benefit other people."

Mr. Koechel, who had a doctorate in medicinal chemistry and biochemistry, received the Robert T. Tidrick Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching each year from 1976-2007.

"He was very excited about helping people learn," his wife said. "He was excited about science and teaching and helping train medical students and nurses."

He could make complex processes seem logical and simple, said Dr. Thomas Mehelas, who worked in his pharmacology lab and was a student in the 1970s and an MCO colleague in the 1990s.

"He was the best science professor I've ever had, the best science teacher," Dr. Mehelas said. "He was truly one of the best handful of people I've ever known."

Months before he was to teach a class, Mr. Koechel immersed himself in the current literature to prepare.

"He liked to learn himself, so it was a process where he was continually learning and sharing," his wife said. "He never gave the same lecture twice."

He didn't use notes. Rather at 11 the night before a lecture, he went to the classroom and filled the whiteboards with diagrams, said his wife, who went along.

"I was the board washer, and he got busy," she said.

His research on renal pharmacology received grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. He also wrote a chapter on diuretics for a textbook used in the field.

He was born Nov. 16, 1939, in Waseca, Minn., to Hazel "Pat" and Clark Koechel. He was a 1957 graduate of Waseca Central High School and received a bachelor of science degree in pharmacy in 1962 from University of Minnesota. His PhD followed in 1969.

His goal had been to enter the pharmaceutical industry to work on developing new diuretics, his research focus at the University of Minnesota, according to A Community of Scholars - Recollections of the Early Days of the Medical College of Ohio. The chairman of pharmacology at the nascent MCO, Dr. Edward Cafruny came to Minnesota for a seminar - and spent more than an hour in discussion with Mr. Koechel afterward over their mutual interests.

Dr. Cafruny told him, according to the book, "If you are looking for a job when you finish your PhD, look me up." Mr. Koechel began in the MCO pharmacology department in 1969 as a two-year postdoctoral fellow, after which Dr. Cafruny encouraged him to stay rather than join the pharmaceutical industry.

Mr. Koechel was a member of the former Zion United Methodist Church, where he led Bible studies. He redoubled his own study of the Bible in retirement, pursuing it "with the same vigor he attacked his research," his wife said. He also researched the family genealogy, for health reasons.

"He was quiet, but he was a very good listener," his wife said. "He was playful, especially with our children. You couldn't ask for a better dad. He could see the humor in situations. He was very optimistic."

His daughter Darcy Anne Lovett died Aug. 4, 2017.

Surviving are his wife, the former Judy Hackett, his high school sweetheart whom he married Dec. 16, 1961; son, Grant Koechel; daughter, Molly Stevenson; brother, Clark Koechel, and seven grandchildren.

A celebration of life service will begin at 2:30 p.m. June 26 at Church of the Cross United Methodist Church, where the family will receive guests after 1 p.m.

The family suggests tributes to the Professor Daniel A. Koechel Scholarship Fund at the University of Toledo medical school; Church of the Cross; Hospice of Northwest Ohio, or a charity of the donor's choice.

This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at mzaborney@theblade.com.