Gene will be missed
With heavy hearts we mark the passing of one of our own. Gene Koffler, one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to work alongside, died Monday night at the too young age of 63. We all knew Gene was planning to leave the Herald-Standard family sometime soon. With 39 years on the job, Gene had begun thinking about retiring. And we would listen, with excitement for him and perhaps with a little bit of envy, to his dreams of breaking away from the working routine for a life filled with plenty of time to spend with his family and dabbling in things that he wanted to do. We wanted to wish him well and celebrate that milestone.
We never expected Gene would leave so suddenly and so soon. The shock is still so great, the grief so deep.
“Gene Koffler was that kind of person you pray will join our organization, the kind of person you enjoy working beside, the kind of person you hope the younger employees will become, yet he was always humble,” Publisher Val Laub said.
It was his strong work ethic, his patience in training and coaching new employees, and in solving problems that are always bound to crop up on deadline that were remarkable about Gene. He didn’t fluster easily, and he was always quick with an infectious smile that spread even to the grouchiest among us.
“The Herald-Standard changed on Monday and will always be a little different from now on – but Geno, as I called him, made his mark here and our company benefited tremendously because he dedicated his life to the newspaper business, our newspaper – the Herald-Standard, and us,” Laub said. “I will miss him. We will all miss him, and we are saddened that we never had the chance to say good-bye. Those who knew him well will keep him as part of our team forever. “
Despite the demands of his job, Gene found time to indulge in his love of the outdoors and to belong to Saint Mary (Nativity) Roman Catholic Church, General George C. Marshall AMVETS Post 103 in Hopwood, Pa., and the Izaak Walton League, Uniontown Chapter.
We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Jeanette, his son Michael and wife Anna, his brother and sister-in-law Raymond and Mary Ann Koffler of Uniontown and the many other relatives and friends who were blessed to know Gene.