Memorial Service
Fellowship Bible Church-
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Email Details
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1220 N. Idaho Rd.
Post Falls, ID 83854
David Kohli
May 28, 1933 — March 20, 2017
David Kohli
David Kohli, 83, was born May 28, 1933, in Lima, Ohio. He passed to be with his Savior on March 20, 2017, at his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
Dave was the oldest son of Howard and Lenore Kohli and the family moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1940. In the 1960’s, both he and his parents owned orchards on Green Bluff, Washington for many years. Dave had three younger sisters: Sondra, Harriet, and Karen. He graduated from Rogers High School in 1951 before matriculating at WSC (now WSU). He later transferred to University of Idaho, where he met his future wife Blanche Rae Branson. He graduated from U of Idaho in 1956 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and with an ROTC commission. Dave and Blanche married on June 17, 1956. They had been married for 60 years and had two children, LeeAnn and Ken, and ten grandchildren.
As a Captain in the US Army, Dave worked on a top-secret project at the Pentagon’s National Security Agency (NSA). Civilian life brought them back to Spokane where he worked for Bonneville Power Administration as well as serving with the National Guard. After a short time he accepted a job as an air conditioning sales engineer. Six years later he purchased the heating and air conditioning company, Parrott Mechanical, in Coeur d’Alene in 1968. He owned Parrott for 15 years, during which time he was an active member of the business community, Rotary International, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). He became an expert in deep underground mine cooling after helping to design the first air-conditioning systems in some of the world’s largest silver mines in the Silver Valley, Idaho. He traveled to China in 1980 with a delegation of 15 engineers to share his deep-mine cooling expertise. In 1983 he became an engineering consultant with Bovay Engineers in Spokane, a company owned by his long-time high school buddy Gene McKay. They have continued to repair and restore cars together off and on (Dave focused on Studebakers) for well over 60 years. In October, 2016, Dave was inducted in the University of Idaho’s Academy of Engineers, making him one of only about 50 U of I graduates to be given this distinguished lifetime achievement award. He was a gifted mechanical engineer and he loved sharing that gift.
During his retirement years, Dave became an active member of Fellowship Bible Church in Post Falls where he served as a deacon, devoting many hours and materials to restoring and maintaining the church building. He did the same for the Cd’A Charter Academy before they opened their doors in 1999, helping to convert it from a greenhouse to a school building. While his son Ken was a Boy Scout, Dave led many scouting trips and also helped to maintain Camp Easton. In recent years he attended Bible Study Fellowship as well. In addition, he picked up the accordion and took lessons for seven years, allowing him to join others in playing for retirement homes and similar venues. Blanche and Dave enjoyed many travels to car club events and accordion festivals during the past 20 years. In his younger years, Dave traveled all over the world, including Russia, China, and Europe, often with family.
Studebaker trucks and cars were a lifelong love of Dave’s and he continued to collect and restore a variety of them, as well as a 1951 Hudson Hornet. The day before he passed away, Dave and Blanche went to church and then took his propane-powered, mint-green Studebaker truck out for one of their many drives. That’s one way many will remember him. In his own words, however, he said, “I would like to be remembered as a dedicated father, an honest and fair employer, and having had a livelihood that has rewarded me with work and blessings that I could never have imagined.” His granddaughter described him as having spent his whole life helping anyone who ever needed it. All who knew him would agree, especially his family-- he was always more than ready to help others.
Dave is survived by his wife Blanche at home; his 3 sisters, Sondra Springer, Harriet Anderberg, and Karen Helpingstine (Jim); his daughter LeeAnn Cheeley and her husband Chris and their six surviving children: Natasha, Avery, Gabriel, Augustin, Annaliese and Lucas; his daughter-in-law Susan Kohli and her three children: Kyle, Lauren and Luke, as well as Susan’s husband David Horton. Dave was preceded in death by his son Kenneth Kohli (1996) and his grandson Zachary Cheeley (2016).
Services will be held Saturday, April 22, at Fellowship Bible Church at 1pm, 1220 N Idaho St, Post Falls, ID 83854. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to either Fellowship Bible Church, Hospice of North Idaho, or Cd’A Charter Academy.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of David Kohli, please visit our flower store.
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