Obituary of Ruth A. Koch

Knox - Ruth A. Koch (Smith, Casey) died Tuesday, September 9, 2025 at the Kingsway Arms Nursing Home in Schenectady.  Born March 26, 1926 in Albany, Ruth was the daughter of the late William and Frances Smith.  Ruth grew up on a farm on a dirt road during the depression.  The lessons she learned from her parents were thrift, conservation, the value of hard work, appreciation of nature and the importance of family.  These lessons stayed with her for her entire long life.  Living almost 100 years, Ruth witnessed astonishing advances; the core values she learned and passed on to her family was her strength which was her bedrock.  Consider that she witnessed sliced bread, television, airplanes, Pearl Harbor, and humans walking on the moon yet she still knew that digging in the dirt and watching something grow was the most amazing experience a person could have.

At 96 she was bottle feeding baby goats, driving her golf cart down to the pond to feed her ducks and going to farm stands to stock up on potatoes and onions.  She loved making pine cone wreaths and picking strawberries in the spring and apples in the fall.  In the hay fields, she’d slam the gears of the red International tractor and make five-gallon pails of Gatorade to keep the crew baling.  Her favorite pastime was fishing at her cottage on Tilden Lake in Canada.

Survivors include her husband, Harry J. Koch; her children, Brian T. Casey (Sandi), Stephen J. Casey (Diane), Michael J. Casey (Russell), James P. Casey (Cyndie), Patricia Figler (Joseph) and JoAnn Koch-Quon; her grandchildren, Vikki Casey (Kristofer), Thomas Casey (Jackie), Cori-Lyn Meservey (Steven), Joseph Figler (Corrina), Traci Figler Johnson and Michael Quon (Amanda); and 17 great-grandchildren.  She was predeceased by her first husband, Thomas J. Casey; siblings, Frances Metzer and William Smith, Jr.; and son, Harry Koch, Jr.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 13, 2025 at the Reilly & Son Funeral Home, Colonie.  Interment will follow in Our Lady of Angels Cemetery in Colonie.  Calling hours will be Friday from 4 - 7 p.m. in the funeral home.

Ruth loved her dogs!  To remember Ruth in a special way please send contributions to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, 3 Oakland Ave., Menards, NY 12204.  Ruth greatly appreciated the Northeastern Association of the Blind for the assistance they provided.  She especially liked the talking book program.. Contributions may be sent to 301 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12206 or the Thomas Casey Scholarship Fund, c/o Brian Casey, 13 Locust Park, Albany, NY 12205.