Esther V. Koch, 99, of Spokane Valley, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Friday, July 8, 2011, in Spokane Valley. Born on November 24, 1911 in Colfax to William & Pearl Lee, the Lee family made their home in Penawawa where William had an orchard. When Esther's mother passed away, she was only 12 years old, so Esther then took on the role of being the woman of the house, which made her grow up fast. In 1928, the family moved to Northern California, and Esther stayed there for four years, before returning to Colfax. Esther graduated from Colfax High School in 1932 and married Clark D. Koch in November 1933. Clark passed away in 2005 after the couple celebrated 73 years of marriage. Esther was a very talented person, doing handy crafts like crocheting and knitting, and she really enjoyed teaching friends how it was done. Esther worked for a lot of the farm families in the Colfax area through the years and worked at Roger's Brother's Seed Plant sorting peas for many years. Esther also worked for Safeway as a meat wrapper until her retirement. Clark and Esther became snowbirds after they both retired in 1970, and they spent the next 28 years in between Arizona, Southern Idaho, Colfax, and Spokane. Esther is survived by her two sons; Gary C. Koch, of Garden Valley, ID and Daryl L. Koch of Liberty Lake, WA; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. At Esther's request there will be no formal service, but there will be a celebration of her life at a later date and time for family and friends. Esther had lived at the Stillwater Family Adult Home in Spokane Valley for the last ten years.