Preston E. Koentop, Lt. Colonel, USAF (Retired)
May 07, 1932 – March 22, 2009

Koentop, Preston E. 76 yrs. old entered into eternal rest on March 22, 2009.

He was best known to his friends and coworkers as “Pres.” He was born to Harold E. & Amanda Koentop on May 07, 1932, on a farm in Brandon, WI.

Preston attended the University of Wisconsin Fond du Lac from 1950 to 1951 he then went on to graduate in 1955 from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a BS in Mechanical Engineering; he also got an MBA in Management. While in college he received many certificates of merit.

Preston went on to serve his country in 1956 in the Air Force where he served much of his military career as a pilot. In August of 1972 he was assigned to Wright-Patterson AFB and in April of 1979 he retired as a Lt. Col.

After retiring from the military Preston worked as a System Safety Consultant while he attended Wright State University. In June 1982 he began his civil service career and was assigned to the System Safety Group. In April 1986 he served as the ASD Deputy Chief of Safety until he became an Integration and System Engineer in the ACM SPO from August 1988 through February 1993.

With all these accomplishments Preston married his high school sweetheart, Marlene J. Tavs on May 8, 1953. Preston & Marlene have spent 13 yrs. wintering in the Rio Grande Valley. The last 10 years of wintering were at Casa Del Sol in Donna, TX.

Preston is survived by his loving wife Marlene and 4 beautiful children Dianne June (Fred) Walling; Candice Joy (Greg) Wolfe; Melanie Jayne von Strohe and Curtis Harold Koentop. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held on April 18, 2009, at 10:30 am at East Dayton Baptist Church in Riverside, OH.

Burial information: Valley View Memorial Gardens, Xenia, OH

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Major Koentop served a Vietnam War tour as a HH-43F pilot with Det. 5, 38th ARRS in the 1971-time frame.