George A. Koehler

Suddenly on July 5, 2009, Age 87 of Pilesgrove, NJ, formerly of Westmont, NJ. Dear Father of Eric Koehler and his wife Linda of Avon, Ohio and Gary Koehler and his wife Margo of Pilesgrove, NJ. Loving Grandfather Kristin Rice and her husband James of Rocky River, OH and Ethan Koehler and his wife Margaret of Brooklyn, NY. Great-Grandfather of Camden Rice.

Born in Philadelphia on July 23, 1921, the only child of Herbert J. and Mildred A. Koehler, he grew up in Camden, New Jersey. He was a graduate (1942) of the University of Pennsylvania and was active in various alumni committees. He later moved to Haddon Township with his wife Jane, the former Jane Marie Caputi of Merchantville. Married during WW II in Tampa Florida in a ten-minute church ceremony in 1944, five weeks later was posted overseas with the Eighth Air Force. They had an ideal marriage of 62 years until Jane passed away in 2006.

During World War II, Captain Koehler, a B-17 (Flying Fortress) bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps (later the U.S. Air Force) was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters and the Distinguished Unit Citation for combat service with the Eighth Air Force in Europe, flying 33 missions, 19 of them as lead or deputy lead pilot of the squadron, group, wing or division. Back in this country he served as a B-17 flight instructor at Lockbourne Air Base in Columbus, Ohio.

Mr. Koehler was a life-long South Jersey resident who, in later years, also spent time in Avon, Ohio. A well know communications executive, Mr. Koehler, in 1972, was the founder and Vice Chairman of Gateway Communications, a television station group, which owned stations in Binghamton, NY, Altoona and Lancaster, PA and Huntington, WV.

Prior to the formation of Gateway, Mr. Koehler served with Triangle Publications, Inc., in Philadelphia, for 27 years. Starting as a special events reporter when he joined radio station WFIL, Philadelphia in 1945, through successive promotions he was directly involved in the management of virtually every department in the organization. After serving as director of news, publicity and special events, director of advertising and promotion, radio sales manager and executive assistant to the general manager of radio and television, he was appointed station manager of WFIL and WFIL-TV (Channel 6, Philadelphia) in 1955.

In 1968, Mr. Koehler was named general manager of the WFIL stations as well as general manager of the Radio and Television Division of Triangle Publications, Inc., which operated 16 AM, FM and TV stations as well as several cable systems and a program production and sales company. With WFIL-TV he developed the “Action News” format and title which is widely copied throughout the country today.

Throughout his years in broadcasting, Mr. Koehler participated extensively in industry-related organizations. Among his industry associations, he served as president of the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters; as a director of the industry’s Television Bureau of Advertising; he was a member of the board of directors of the ABC-TV Affiliates Association and later its chairman. In 1971 he was named Man of the Year@ by the Television and Radio Advertising Club of Philadelphia, in 1977 was named Person of the Year@ by the Broadcast Pioneers and in 1994 he was nominated to the Philadelphia Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Also active in civic affairs in Philadelphia, Mr. Koehler served the United Fund as public relations chairman, was on the board of governors of the Heart Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania and a director of the Salvation Army and a director of Philadelphia’s Better Business Bureau. He has worked for a number of other charitable organizations in the Delaware Valley area.

He served as president of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia (then 3rd largest in the world) in 1960 and has been an active Rotarian all his life, including membership in the Rotary Club of Woodstown, New Jersey. He was the first World War II veteran to serve as commander of Thoirs Post, American Legion, in Camden, New Jersey. He was a member of The Union League, in Philadelphia for forty years.

Mr. Koehler served on the board of trustees of Methodist Hospital, Philadelphia, for 35 years; was a director of the national United Methodist Communications Commission and served on the board of Pennington School, NJ. He was very active as a board member at the First United Methodist Church of Westmont, NJ and was a trustee of the Camden District and has served the Southern New Jersey Methodist Conference in several capacities.

Retired, and moving to Salem County in 1986, Mr. Koehler served on the Salem County Mental Health Board, the county’s Cultural and Heritage Commission, the board of directors of the Salem County Community College, as an elder in the Woodstown Presbyterian Church and as secretary of the Woodstown Beautification Committee.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend his visitation Friday 9:30 to 10:45 AM at the Hardingville Bible Church, 284 Whig Lane Rd., Monroeville, NJ 08343. Funeral Services will follow 11 AM at the church. Entombment will be private. In lieu of flowers contributions in George’s memory may be made to Woodstown Rotary Foundation, PO Box 431, Woodstown, NJ 08098 or Hardingville Bible Church.

DIRECTIONS TO CHURCH

From Northern Regions & Philadelphia

Follow 295 South to Route 42 S. Follow Rt. 42 South to Rt. 55 S. Follow Rt. 55 S. for approximately 9 miles to the Glassboro-Ferrell Exit (Exit 48, Rt. 641). Follow 641 S. through the traffic light and turn left at the next stop sign. Travel to the second crossroad and turn right. The church will be on the right.

From Western Regions & Chester

Follow US Rt. 322 into Mullica Hill, New Jersey and turn right at the light. Go through the town and pick up Rt. 77 South for about 4 miles. At the first blinking light turn left. This will be Rt. 538. Follow for 1.8 miles. The church will be on the left at the second intersection.

From Southern Regions & Delaware

Follow US Rt. 40 through Woodstown, New Jersey. Look for a green state sign on the left which reads “Hardingville”, and turn left. Cross over Rt. 77 and the church is at the corner of Rt. 538 and the road you are on.