Perry Allen Koehn was born January 20, 1953 to Allen E. and Betty Koehn in Hutchinson, Kansas. He was called, and ran to the feet of Jesus on November 22, 2023. He was the oldest son of five, three sisters and one brother; Dena (Chet) Womack, Sarah (Brad) Richardson, and Suzie (Gary) McClintock and one brother, Mark.
He attended Obee Grade School, then Buhler High School. At Buhler, he was introduced to the sport of Cross Country. His running career consisted of two scholarships, one with Hutch JUCO, where he was an All American, and one with Wichita State University. His love for sports led him to a career of teaching others to love sports—a PE teacher and coach for 32 years in the Moundridge School District.
Perry accepted the Lord as his Savior at the age of 18 and was baptized at Temple Baptist Church in Hutchinson. Later in his walk with the Lord, it became very apparent to him that there was nothing he could do to save himself, and that the saving grace came through the cross and the sacrifice Jesus made for him. As he read Romans 7, this truth became so real and his walk with the Lord became deeper more meaningful. He was quoted in a periodical from Wichita State University as saying, “Runners seem to get addicted to it. It almost becomes part of their life and can’t be separated. If I don’t get up in the morning and run, I’ll feel guilty all day. It just becomes habit.” This also applied to his walk with the Lord, as he craved his time in the Word each morning, it feeling wrong to miss it.
In 1977 he married Cyndi. They had three children; Ryan (Erin) Koehn, Laurie Koehn, and Clinton (Lindsey) Koehn. Each child brought something new to the family and he was very proud of each one of them. His greatest desire was that they love and serve the Lord. The family grew to a total of 13 with Joshua and Matthew joining Ryan’s family and Colby, Nelsen, Boone and Mary joining Clinton’s. He often commented on how blessed he was to have this family and was in constant prayer for their salvation and growth in their relationships with Christ. He will be missed as a prayer warrior.
After he retired, he became an avid reader of Bible Study Books. He loved the works of the Puritans, Begg, Mac Arthur, Sproul and many others. He listened to Bott radio and AFR all day while painting. Pilgrim’s Progress was a favorite of his and he read the children’s version to his grandchildren. He was always looking for books to give them or read to them that gave them a good overview of the Bible. Overnights stays were punctuated with him reading a bedtime Bible story.
Although this illness was fairly brief, his greatest desire was that Christ be honored. While in the hospital he let everyone who came through the door know that he was saved by the blood of Jesus, and was leaning on His righteous, even the hospital chaplain got the gospel message from him! He ran the race well!
He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother Mark. Survivors include his wife, children, grandchildren, sisters, brothers in law and sisters in law, and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to the express our humble gratitude to all who prayed for us during this journey. Our extended family, dear friends and many brothers and sisters in Christ have held us up throughout this recent trial. May Christ be honored and glorified as we move forward on our leg of this race.
A celebration of life service will be held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at Garden Community Church, rural Moundridge. The services will be livestreamed at www.youtube.com/@GardenCommunityChurch. Burial will follow at the church cemetery. Family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m., Monday, November 27 at Moundridge Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Truth for Life in care of Moundridge Funeral Home, PO Box 410, Moundridge, KS 67107.