May 6, 1939 – February 14, 2019
The horse world has lost a true champion. Suzanne Mary Koch passed away in her sleep on Feb. 14.
Suzanne was born in Salinas, California, to Roy and Janet Scott. She attended a private boarding school in Los Gatos as a child, where her love for horses began. Graduating two years early, her high school years were spent at Salinas High where the mascot fittingly is the Cowboys. She married Charlie Mell, a calf roper and fellow horse lover, right out of high school. That marriage lasted 10 years, producing a son, Roy, and a daughter, Sherri.
After that marriage, she met the love of her life Henning Koch on the California Cowboy’s Rodeo Association circuit. Typical of Suzanne, she knew what she wanted and wasted no time in marrying him. After all, he owned a 200 acre cattle ranch and was a top calf and team roper. Moving Roy, Sherri, and her horses, to Stevinson, where she and Henning added Appaloosas to the already well-known (around the Central Valley) HK Cattle Ranch, turning it into a nationally known Appaloosa ranch, producing over 300 World and National Championships or Reserves in the Appaloosa industry over five decades. Suzanne taught many young riders how to ride and tirelessly promoted the Appaloosa breed. She could recite the bloodlines of all of the nearly 50 horses on the HK Ranch. Weekends were spent traveling up and down the state going to rodeos, junior rodeos, ropings and horse shows. The list of national championships/awards she has won through showing, breeding, and racing is endless. She, Henning and Sherri are all in the National Appaloosa Hall of Fame with Sherri (guided by Suzanne over the years) also in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.
Having lost Henning in 2006, she married a third time at 69. Yes, once again to another Western man, Fred Gleason. She and Fred resided on the HK Ranch surrounded by her beautiful horses and cattle and were happily married for the past 11 years traveling, going on cruises and attending the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas each year.
Professionally, Suzanne proudly worked for Foster Farms in Livingston for 39 years in the credit department, eventually becoming their first CFO. She also is a past president of the National Association of Credit Managers (NACM).
Suzanne leaves behind her son Roy Scott (Kathleen), her daughter, Sherri Mell (Mike Torres), grandchildren Jeffrey Scott and Jessica Scott Tezak (Alex), and great grandson Colton Tezak.
A funeral service was held February 28 at Whitehurst-Norton-Dias Funeral Service in Turlock, Calif. She was laid to rest at Sunnyside Cemetery in Stevinson, Calif.