Ann Curfman Koch, 1942-2023

Ann Curfman Koch, 1942-2023

Ann’s son Greg wrote to inform us that Ann passed away in June 2023. She was a long-time resident of Willits, California. Greg told us, “In her time, [my mother] taught high-performance driving at race tracks, competed in endurance horseback races, coached and refereed adult and kid’s soccer (including an adult Mexican league, of which she was most proud considering how rough the players were with each other), and rescued dogs. She taught me to shoot a bow and arrow, throw knives, and ride dirt bikes. She tried to teach me math, but it was never as easy for me as it was for her.”

 As a student at East High, Ann participated in German Club as well as many other activities. In the photo below from the 1960 Echoes, she is sharing her German skills with an under-classman.  Old friends will recognize her confident demeanor.

 

Above, Ann Curfman, 1960.  

Ann is pictured below (front row) with the Class of 1960’s large group of National Merit finalists, also including Sally Campbell, Roger Clawson, Gary Armstrong, David Kroenlein, David Divoky, Gary Byrd, Tom Tatlock, and Gene Carter. Only Ann and Sally look amused by the photo op.

Nancy Fulton Ingle – Ann and I stayed in touch over the years. One year we met up in San Francisco. As we left the hotel for breakfast, the street was packed. The Dykes on Bikes were passing right in front of us as only one interesting element of the Gay Pride Parade. Ann gave me a side-eye and whispered, “ I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” So many wonderful memories of her: she taught me to drive stick shift, we put on shows in her backyard, we went to Lake Geneva and sang the Volga Boat Song while canoeing, we spoke pretend Russian on the bus to downtown, and she gave me a surprise 16th birthday scavenger hunt with puppies as the prizes. I will miss her.

 

Ann’s son Greg Koch sent the obituary below to share with her classmates

Elizabeth Ann Curfman Koch

Elizabeth Ann Koch (née Curfman), class of 1960, died in June, ’23 following a brief illness.

After graduating high school, Ann attended Vassar College, where she received a Bachelor of Science.

Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she married and moved with her husband to Florida, where their son and only child was born. Shortly thereafter, the family relocated to northern California. There, he studied geology and hydrology in one of UC Berkeley’s PhD programs and finished with ABD (all but dissertation) before she and her husband acquired some property in a rural part of the state. Hidden among the oaks and coastal redwoods, Ann discovered a love of nature, horseback riding, high-performance car driving, and dogs. It was this last interest that would prove to be her life’s calling.

For many years, Ann raised Dobermans, and through a strong network of dog-lovers, she discovered the benefits of rescuing both Dobermans and other breeds. Eventually, she opened her own 501(c)(3) non-profit, with which she re-homed roughly 800 dogs over the space of about fifteen years.

Fiercely independent and driven to succeed, Ann didn’t let anything stand in her way. She was known as a tough, unflinching woman who brooked no nonsense, and yet who always kept a gleam in her eye. She is dearly missed by her son, her daughter-in-law, and her grandson.

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Editor’s Note: An article about Ann and the Mountain Dog Rescue organization that she led as president and CEO will be published here soon.