|
St Gregory's College
Classes of 1980 - 1982 |
Deceased Classmate: Valerie Koelsch (1982)
Date Deceased: April-19-1995
Age at Death: 33
Cause of Death: Killed in the OKC Murrah Federal Building Bombing
Classmate City: Oklahoma City
Classmate State: OK
Classmate Country: USA
Survived By: Harry Joe and Rosemary Koelsch (parents), Greg and Terry (brothers), Michelle Koelsch Brooks (Sister)
On one tragic, senseless day in April, 1995, I lost my sister and a great friend. The world lost a wonderful person. Because of a fanatical dislike of the United States Goverment, a group of cowards decided to make a statement by ending the lives of 171 innocent individuals working or doing business at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. My sister was one of those 171. She worked on the third floor for the Oklahoma Federal Credit Union where she was the Marketing Director.
A website was created with pictures and a autobiography written by Val when she was 12 years old that you can read: http://wiregrassfamilies.com/vkoelsch
I wrote a story several days after the bombing to document the events that occured that day and the days that followed when the rescuers and their dogs searched the rubble for survivors. The story appears in an excellent book titled "Their Faith has Touched Us" written by Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda.
Terry Koelsch
The pictures below are from Val's photo album documenting her life at Greg's.
.jpg)
|
Mary Susan Baker (McAuliff) (1981)
Well, Valerie came to St. Gregory's following her big brother's footsteps. He said she was nervous at first and a bunch of us sophomore girls made her feel welcome. It was easy to do for Valerie. She fit in from day one with her awesome sense of humor, athletic abilities and love for sports, and all-out friendly attitude. If you were Val's friend, she took care of you like a sister. That's how all of us sophomores in our dorm thought of her, little sister. It was a tradgedy of enormous loss for Valerie's family, friends and country that terrible day of the OKC bombing. Valerie was full of life and love of life when her life ended. I miss you Valerie and we never get together without thinking of you first. Love, SusanKimbery Ann Wilcox (McAuliff) (1981)
Valerie, we miss you and your smile! I bet you can eat all the Little Vals (Little Debbies) you want now! Love ya, KimberlyElizabeth Eileen Sullivan (Ruiz) (1981)
I echo the sentiments of Susan and Kimberly. Val was one of my best friends. She was always there for me, like when I had my wisdom teeth pulled under general anesthesia- I don't know how she got me upstairs! Looking at her collection of photos brought back many fond memories. Thank you Terry for sharing. Thoughts of St Gregory's always bring thoughts of Val. I miss her.Scott Wood (1982)
I remember that day well. I live almost 100 miles away in Sapulpa. It actually shook the ground here and rattled the windows. Then the news came, and my heart sunk to find out what had happen so close to home. Then the names came in of people I knew that had died in the blast. I went to greg's for one year in 81 and then started my career with OG&E. In that one year it was hard not to know Val. She had that big of a heart, no one was a stranger to her. She will truly be missed for what she did while on this earth, but most of all, for what she could have done if she had lived. God Bless.Barbara Ann Link (Poulson) (1981)
Thank you Terry for putting this together. Val brought so much joy into my life and still does with the precious memories I have of her. I miss her and love her.