David Denton Koch
David D Koch, age 62, passed away, Thursday July 10, 2025 at Dublin Methodist Hospital. Born to Jack and Cloyce (Beavers) Koch, in Columbus, Ohio, on January 18, 1963.
David is survived by the love of his life, Terri Reeves Hill; his sister, Gloria Yurgelites (Bob Lape); Terri’s children, Amanda (Matt) Clingman and Jason Hill; grandson Samuel Clingman; best friends Alan Chonko, Marie Caputo, Barbara Cooper, Matt Cooper; his work wife, April Booher; “Big John” Archibald and many, many friends in Columbus and Cleveland. Special thanks to neighbor, Sandy, for years of friendship and looking out for Dave’s cats and Dave.
David also had a host of cousins in Arkansas that survive him as well.
David graduated from Whetstone High School and The Ohio State University with a BA in History. He enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard and served in the 107th Armored Cavalry Regiment (OHARNG) for 13 years.
His love of helicopters and airplanes was lifelong and you could find him gazing at the sky long before you saw what he heard coming.
While David grew up in Columbus, he relocated to the Cleveland area in 1999 to pursue a law enforcement career. He decided to pursue a nursing degree instead to the delight of his RN mother, Cloyce.
David went to Huron School of Nursing, graduating with his RN in May 2007. He worked at South Pointe and Marymount Hospitals in the Psychiatric Units as part of The Cleveland Clinic Hospitals until his health forced him to retire in November 2024. He leaves behind many colleagues who became friends.
If you knew David, you knew that he was very kind to people, but also very much an animal lover. He had heated shelters on his back deck and fed the feral cats that came up from the woods behind his house. He even set up cameras to make sure they were coming and getting food. He watched them when he was in Columbus with Terri.
David was diagnosed with Head and Neck cancer (Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma) in 2011. He beat that, but then it resurfaced in his lungs in 2017. It was slow growing until it wasn’t. The cancer metastasized further to his bones in Spring 2025. Although in almost constant pain, he kept fighting hard to be here with his family and friends.
David and Terri dated as juniors in high school and lost touch when he went to basic training for the National Guard. They found one another on Facebook in late 2017 and have been together since January 2018. David called Terri his “rock” or his “pillar.” Terri just said that David showed her what a loving relationship was supposed to be and loved him completely.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Schoedinger Dublin. A Celebration of David’s life will be held Friday, July 18, 2025 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Schoedinger Dublin, 5980 Perimeter Drive, Dublin, Ohio 43017.
Arrangements for a Celebration of Life in Cleveland will be announced soon.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in David’s name to The Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation (https://accrf.org) He supported The Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation to try and find treatment and a cure.