John Henry Koehnlein, Jr., 76, of Pennsboro, W.Va., passed away peacefully, on Tuesday, July 31, 2012, at CCMC, St. Joseph's Campus.
John was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend.
He was born May 9, 1936 in Clarksburg, W.Va., a son of the late Henry and Carrie (Nutter) Koehnlein, Sr. He was a proud graduate of Pennsboro High School with the class of 1955 where he excelled in football and baseball. He was retired from the former Union Carbide plant in Sistersville, W.Va., after 41 years of service as a chemical operator. As a young boy he was a newspaper delivery boy for the Parkersburg News and also worked at the former Penn Theater of Pennsboro. John was an avid fast pitch softball player in Ritchie County and spent many years coaching Pop Warner football, Little League and T-ball for the kids in Pennsboro. He greatly enjoyed bluegrass music and westerns and had a great love for the family farm in Mountain, W.Va., where he would spend many hours on his John Deere tractor mowing the many acres for his family to enjoy.
He is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Donna Jean (Howard) Koehnlein; daughter, Susan Ridgeway (Rick), Pennsboro; grandchildren, Amber and Ryan Jones, Anthony, Brett, and Sarah Ridgeway; great-grandchildren, Wyatt and Harper Ridgeway; sisters, Eleanor Goff and Mary Ellen "Peggy" Mahaney, both of Pennsboro; Carolyn Gibbs, Torch, Ohio; Betty Murphy, Columbus, Ohio; his special cat, Tom, along with many special friends and family.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son, John Michael Koehnlein and son in law, Gary Jones.
Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Saturday, at the McCullough-Rogers Funeral Home, Pennsboro. Burial will follow in the Mount Harmony Masonic Cemetery, Pennsboro. Friends may call the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 3.
The family requests that donations in John's name be made to the Pennsboro High School Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 1762, Parkersburg, WV 26102.
Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.mcculloughraiguel.com
