St Joseph's Catholic Church was packed for the recent farewell mass honouring Moya Koch, highly regarded in the community as a gracious and gentle lady who touched the lives of everyone she met.
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Moya and her twin sister Clare were born on April 21, 1928, at Queanbeyan Hospital and named after the doctor who delivered them, Dr Moya Clare Blackall.
Moya's mother, Anne Elizabeth Reid, was a schoolteacher, who grew up in a family of 16 at Yass. She met Moya's father Michael James Quirk, when she went to Wagragobilly, to teach at a small bush school, about 25 kilometres from Gundagai just off the Tumut River.
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Michael Quirk had a farming background and was a veteran of the Great War. He saw action with the 2nd Battalion in Gallipoli and the Western Front and like many other veterans, never spoke about his experiences.
Moya had a happy childhood with her older siblings Jack, Jean, Bridget (Bridie) and Leo and younger sisters Anne, Harriet (Ette) and Mary, on the family property at Wagragobilly.
The little Catholic church played an important part in the lives of the Quirk family and when the priest visited once a month it was quite an event. Moya's strong Catholic faith was nurtured by her mother and later by the Sisters of Mercy at Gundagai.
The twins received their early education through BlackFriars Correspondence School supervised by their mother. When they reached fourth class level, they attended the little public school at Wagragobilly, travelling the five miles by horse and cart and later in the back of their father's truck.
Moya always looked back on her life with gratitude.
When Moya's father went to Sydney for work on the railways, Moya's mother took up residence in Gundagai where Moya and Clare attended the Catholic school. After completing third year, Moya found work as a book keeper in the office at Stribley's Department Store, where she stayed for around six years. Her twin sister Clare had already secured a position as a receptionist at a local doctor's surgery.
Moya met a local lad Len Koch, whose father was a police officer in Gundagai. He was working in the engineering department of the Gundagai Shire Council and was a keen sportsman. Clare had already married a returned serviceman and had settled into the farming life when Moya and Len tied the knot at St Patrick's Catholic Church, Gundagai, on September 22, 1951.
Their first child Anthony was born in 1952, with Peter arriving in 1953, making for a very busy life. The family spent around three years at Berrigan after Len secured a position on the shire, followed by a move to Merriwa Shire Council and then Liverpool Plains Shire Council at Gunnedah, where he was appointed engineering assistant to Ken Paton.
Two more sons were born when the family lived at 19 Wilga Street - Donald arrived in 1961, with the birth of Timothy in 1963, rounding off their family. The Kochs later moved to 3 Marcia Street.
Don and Tim attended school at St Xavier's and Moya volunteered at the school canteen. When she found time for leisure activities Moya enjoyed a hit of tennis and loved her garden.
Moya's early book-keeping skills were put to good use once again when she found work at the Co-Op, and then McDonagh's Department store and later International Harvester, where she stayed for 12 years, endearing herself to staff and customers alike.
Moya's Catholic faith was still an integral part of her life and she later became involved in the St Vincent de Paul Society, volunteering in the store every Friday and taking part in visitation of the sick, the bereaved, and the lonely at home, in the hospital and the aged care centres. Counting at the church on Sunday nights, doing altar services and cleaning were also regular activities which she loved to join her friends to complete. She learnt and enjoyed bowls at one stage in retirement, loving the regularity and the competitiveness.
When Len's health declined, Moya looked after him at home until he required full-time care at Lundie House, where he died on June 16, 2012. With the support of family and friends, Moya continued to live at her Marcia Street home until her late eighties when she made the decision to move to Mackellar Care's Alkira Hostel.
Moya always looked back on her life with gratitude. She felt blessed to have had such wonderful parents, a great set of brothers and sisters, and enjoyed taking a great interest in the lives of her children and their families including 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She made time to be available whenever she was needed, to be a minder and a mentor and a caring mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, known affectionately as Nan, Big Nan or Nan Koch.
Moya received regular visitors at Alkira and cared for those around her. She treasured the companionship of a number of fellow residents from St Joseph's Parish and liked to prepare the altar for Mass in the Sr Judith Carney Chapel.
Moya and her twin Clare had just reached their 91st birthday when Moya's health began to deteriorate. She spent the last weeks of her life at Lundie House, where she died on June 30 surrounded by her family.
The farewell mass at St Joseph's Catholic Church, was followed by interment at Gunnedah Memorial Park Lawn Cemetery on July 5.
The late Moya Koch is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law Tony and Kris (Forster), Peter and Judy (Gunnedah), Don and Jennifer (Sydney), Tim and Cheryl (Forster) and their families. She is also survived by her twin Clare, and sisters Bridie, Ette and Anne, sister-in-law Pat Quirk (Nambucca Heads) and brother-in-law John Fitzpatrick (Gundagai).