Obituary of Chester Dean Koch

***A public Celebration of Life will be held and the family will receive friends when the Coronavirus travel and gathering restrictions are lifted.*** Private Family Funeral Services for Chester Dean Koch of Elsberry, MO will be held at Carter-Ricks Funeral Home in Elsberry. Rev. Floyd Gudde, pastor of the Elsberry United Methodist Church, will officiate with burial in Oak Ridge Cemetery near Elsberry. Serving as pallbearers will be Dick Mayes, Mike Talbot, Jack Ivy, Dickie Koch, Denis Reed and Rob Lovelace. Mr. Koch, 69, passed away Friday morning, March 20, 2020 at his home near Elsberry. Born August 25, 1950 in St. Louis, MO, he was the son of Chester Adam and Dorothy Marie Boswell Koch. He was united in marriage on July 29, 1972 in Elsberry to Marjorie Jean Lagemann. This union was blessed with two sons, John Adam and Christopher Louis. Chester was a 1968 graduate of Elsberry High School; and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education from Central Missouri State College in Warrensburg, MO in 1973. He served his country during the Vietnam War in the United States Army from April 17, 1973 until July 17, 1973; and was honorably discharged from the Army Reserves as a 1st. Lieutenant on March 5, 1981. For most of his adult life, Chester farmed with his Dad and brother on Cocklebur Farms, retiring April 1, 2019. He served on the Board of the Elsberry Drainage District for many years. He was a long-time member and Finance Officer of the American Legion Post #226 in Elsberry. He was a 25-year member of Elsberry Ducks Unlimited. Chester was a member of the Elsberry United Methodist Church. Chester was preceded in death by his father, Chester A. Koch; and his brother-in-law, Mark Talbot. Survivors include his beloved wife of nearly almost 48 years, Margie Koch of Elsberry; their sons: John Koch and his wife, Tammy, of Elsberry, and Chris Koch, also of Elsberry; and two granddaughters, Kate and Kinley Koch of Elsberry. Chester also leaves his mother, Dorothy Koch of Elsberry; one brother, Craig A. Koch and his wife, Linda, of Elsberry; his sister, Cindy Talbot of Elsberry; his mother-in-law, Pearl Lagemann of Elsberry; six sisters-in-law: Marilyn Hardy and her husband, Ron, of Venice, FL, Rebecca Tangmann and her husband, Jim, of Hattiesburg, MS, Patty Davison of Weldon Springs, MO, Norma Lauer of St. Peters, MO, Janet Lovelace and her husband, Rob, of Elsberry, and Mary Whitehead and her husband, Kevin, of Elsberry; aunts, uncles, many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. A public Celebration of Life will be held and the family will receive friends when the Coronavirus travel and gathering restrictions are lifted. Memorials may be made to the Elsberry United Methodist Church (or) the American Legion Post #226 in care of Carter-Ricks Funeral Home, 107 S. 5th Street; Elsberry, MO 63343. Online condolences may be made at www.carterricksfuneralhome.com.