Phyllis Kocher

Phyllis Kocher, 82, Bismarck, earned her Angel’s Wings on August 6, 2020. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Pkwy, Bismarck. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services. Guests are encouraged to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines. For those unable to attend services, a service livestream will be available on Parkway Funeral Service’s website.

Burial will be held at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.

Phyllis (Braun) Kocher was born on March 3, 1938 to Peter and Anna (Heidrich) Braun. She was raised on the family farm near Strasburg. She graduated from high school at Good Council Academy, Mankato, MN in 1956. Phyllis stayed home for a year to help on the family farm.

In Aug. 1957, Phyllis married Roger Kocher. Roger was in the Army, so they were stationed in Arizona where the first two of their four children were born. After his discharge, they moved to California where they had two more children. Phyllis worked at Preston Electronics for five years. While she was there, she completed two years of Leadership Courses/Training. In 1975, they moved the family back to North Dakota where she worked at Cathedral Church for three years. From 1975 to 1981 she worked various jobs. She went to work for the Bismarck Public School District in 1981 until her retirement in 1993 due to health issues. Following her retirement, she joined in her husband’s business running the office out of their home.

Roger and Phyllis moved to Prairie Pointe Assisted Living Center in 2018.  They found their “home”.  The staff is amazing, enriching their lives with the social activities, great BBQ food and wonderful new friends.  Phyllis was an “ambassador” for Prairie Pointe – making a point to meet all of the new people and help them feel at home.

Phyllis’ hobbies included bowling, reading, and completing crossword puzzles. She loved watching her beloved Minnesota Twins.

She was very active in the Evangel Assembly in the Women’s Ministry and Bible studies. She was also a greeter at the church for 30 years.  Her faith was unwavering – she was truly a gift from God.

Her greatest pleasure was when her great-grandchildren would run around the house calling for their “GG”. She was often heard saying, “It doesn’t get any better than this” and “you can never have too much bling”!

Preceding Phyllis in death were her parents, her grandson, Eric Kocher, her sister Alice Schiele-Gimbel, her brother, Eddie Braun and 3 sisters in childhood.

Cherishing the life they shared with Phyllis are her husband, Roger, children, Sandy Ressler (Scott), Rocky Kocher (Bev), John Kocher (Jen) and Shelly Kocher (Clayton).  She also left behind her sisters Irene Baumgartner, Doris Kelsch, Angie Uhlmeyer, Patty Ficek, Verena Schauer and brother, Gerry Braun.  In addition, she leaves 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Phyllis wants others to remember, “Life is way too short to worry about the little things.”

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Salvation Army or Ministry on the Margins.