Last month, the Peterborough community bid farewell to well-known resident Rob Koch, who died after an illness at age 81.
Rob Koch of Peterborough was an avid volunteer, a longtime board member of local theater stages, and a longtime counselor and professor at Franklin Pierce University, and the kind of man who knew everybody.
“He touched so many people in so many walks of life,” said his son, Chris Koch. “Walking downtown with him, it took hours to get from point A to point B, because he knew everybody. He always had somebody to talk to.”
Koch was a longtime director of outreach at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, the president of the Peterborough Kiwanis Club, an avid volunteer, and former board member at the Peterborough Players Theatre, founding member of the Actors Circle Theatre, and well-known for his portrayal of Dracula on Halloween during neighborhood trick-or-treat.
“Rob always made me feel welcome when I started Kiwanis in February of 2025,” recalled fellow member Kimberly Chamberlain. “At first I didn’t get his dry humor but then quickly realized that the slight smirk or raise of an eyebrow only meant that I was ‘in’ in his eyes.”
“Rob Koch was an amazing person and kind friend. I always enjoyed Rob’s stories, sharing of local history, adventurous spirit and, most of all, his subtle, playful wit,” said fellow Kiwanis Club member Barbara Bowen. “He was dedicated to Kiwanis’ work for kids and was always ready to help. Rob had dignity, charm, humor, generosity and kindness that will be greatly missed by the whole community of people he touched.”
His sense of humor is one of the things that his wife, Judy Koch, said first attracted her to Koch, when they met in college on a blind date.
“He had this kind of quiet sense of humor,” recalled Judy Koch. “We went bowling, and he was just fun to be around, and very complimentary of my bowling skills, of which I had none. That’s the way he was quietly encouraging of anyone he talked to.”
“He’s always been whimsical, and a bit tongue-in-cheek,” agreed Chris Koch. “You’d ask him a serious question, and he could find a way to spin it with humor.”
Chris Koch said his father took the approach of “every mistake is just another learning lesson.”
“Everything he did was just wrapped around teaching,” Chris Koch said.
He recalled when his father was taking him to the high school parking lot for his first driving lesson, only to pull over halfway there, tell his son that his contact was bothering him, and ask him to take over.
Despite having never driven before, Chris Koch said he successfully got them to the school, only to ask his father if his eye was okay, and to get the reply: “I’m fine, I just wanted to see how you’d do under pressure.”
Most of Koch’s career was dedicated to counseling, including 25 years at Franklin Pierce University. He also lent that expertise to Reality Check in Jaffrey, which provides addiction support, as a board member.
“Reality Check is very grateful for the service Rob gave to the Board of Directors at Reality Check, helping to support people seeking recovery from addiction and alcoholism,” said Reality Check CEO Mary Drew. “Aligning with his life’s work, Rob freely supported our agency for several years, offering input on how to better understand and serve people who struggled with addiction, and working tirelessly to help reduce stigma.”
Koch was also a lifelong lover of theater and performing arts. He was heavily involved with the Peterborough Players, including as a facilities manager and master carpenter in 2001-02, serving as a board member from 1999 to 2004, and serving as a general volunteer for decades.
“I had the privilege of working with Rob as a volunteer for the Peterborough Players for at least 10 years before he joined Kiwanis. He truly loved the theater and that company in particular. He had a great, dry sense of humor and could tell stories with the best of them. He was unique, and I will truly miss him,” said his friend Bob Bolt.
He was also a founding member of the Actors’ Circle Theatre, a local troupe that performed in Depot Square Park in Peterborough. His friend, Stephanie Hurley, said they first met in that group, where she said Koch was a “fount of knowledge and humor.”
“He had such intimate knowledge of the theater and town events, and he was always full of interesting facts about just about everything,” Hurley said. “He was a fun and generous person who will be greatly missed.”
Judy Koch said over the years, her husband participated in more than 65 local productions, either as an actor, director or producer. He was also an accomplished artist, making sculptures of clay, stone or bronze.
“Whether it was drama or creative art, he loved it,” said Judy Koch.
His favorite holiday was Halloween, and he had a particular tradition of dressing up as Dracula every year, with full stage makeup. Judy Koch said their house became so popular at Halloween that they got hundreds of children every year lining up to get candy from him, so much so that Chris Koch joked that his father had spent his inheritance on Halloween candy. He’d been doing it long enough that some children have grown up and are now bringing their own children to trick-or-treat at their house.
“He brought such a caring lightness to everything shared with us,” said Kiwanis Club member Lauron Lewis. “We were very lucky to have the time he spent with us.”
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorial contributions in Koch’s memory be made to the Kiwanis Club, Reality Check or the Peterborough Players.
