William (Bill) Koch was born in 1930 in Covington. He served on the front lines in Korea as a tank driver and instructor. He saw many deadly battles, and was injured himself during shelling by the Koreans. In 1956, he married Eunice Riesenbeck, of Park Hills. As new members of St. Henry Parish, they bought a little house on Bedinger Avenue in Elsmere, where they had their first 6 children, and lived there until 1968.  That year, they packed up their 6 kids and moved to a larger home on LaFayette Court in Erlanger, where they had 3 more children. Bill sold RV’s, Christmas trees and played piano at night to support his family. He spent many years as a volunteer firefighter and ambulance driver in Elsmere. Over the next 50 years, the children all grew up there until they married or moved out.  Bill and Eunice lived there until 2018 when he entered a memory care facility. He passed away in 2019. Eunice lived in LaFayette until then, and currently lives in a condo in the Lakemont subdivision in Erlanger. Five of their eight surviving adult children (one of their sons passed away in 2008) still live and/or work in Erlanger. The others are still close by in NKY. The world is a better and safer place because he was in it. 

Bio provided Kathy Koch Santangelo

Bill’s Honor Banner is on display in Erlanger, May – September through 2026.