December 9, 1949 - December 14, 2022
The Funeral service honoring and celebrating the life of John Joel Kocher will be 3:00 pm, Tuesday, December 20, 2022 in Enid Seventh-Day Adventist Church with David Miller and Ben Burkhardt officiating. Graveside service will be Wednesday, 1:00 pm in Rock Church Cemetery, north of Woodward, Oklahoma. Services are under the direction of Anderson-Burris Funeral Home and Crematory, Enid. Visitation with the family present will be Monday evening from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the funeral home.
John Joel Kocher, 73, passed away at his family's ranch in Woodward, Oklahoma on December 14, 2022 surrounded by loving family. He was born to Joel Owen Kocher and Anna Margaret Kocher on December 9, 1949 in Wichita, KS. He was raised and educated in Enid, OK, graduating from Enid High School in 1967. He is preceded in death by parents Joel and Anna Kocher (Enid, OK), and Aunt Ardis Sowards (Wichita, KS).
Upon graduating from Enid High School, he went to college at The University of Oklahoma, studying Philosophy. He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at OU. He spent a year at Phillips University and a summer at Stanford University. He later transferred to The University of Texas - Austin for his last 2 years of undergraduate school and graduated from there with a BA in Philosophy in 1973. He then worked as a Switch Foreman and Conductor on the St-Louis-San Francisco railroad before resigning in 1979 to attend The University of Oklahoma College of Law where he was elected the First Writing Competition Editor of the American Indian Law Review. He began practicing law in 1984 at Ernest A. Bedford and Associates in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He began his private practice in Enid, Oklahoma in 1994, practicing law there for 28 years. His greatest professional accomplishment was being sworn in as a Special Supreme Court Justice of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma in 2017, and was later sworn in as Associate Supreme Court Justice of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribe in December of 2018.
He was married to the love of his life, Teresa (Bellows) Kocher on February 4th, 2000 in Enid, Oklahoma. He is survived by Teresa Kocher, Wife; sons Houston and Joel Kocher II (Stillwater, OK); daughters Chantelle Hickman (Yukon, OK) and Ellie Kocher (Daphne, AL); grandchildren Trinity DeVan, Allie Brown, Drake Brown, Kyleigh Brown, and Acelin Russell; and great granddaughter Henley DeVan.
He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He was considered an extremely intelligent man who cared greatly for his family and friends. He will be greatly missed by all those who knew him.
Condolences can be made to the family online at Andersonburris.com. Honored to be recognized nationally, the past 6 years, for the Pursuit of Excellence award. Because family matters, let us take care of yours. We are proud to own the only crematory in Garfield county and ensure your loved one receives the care and respect they deserve while never leaving our care. Visit 3002 N. Van Buren, Enid, OK 73703. Call: (580) 233-2700.
Obituaries are posted, in part, due to the generosity of The Commons.
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