Richard William Kochansky, 77

Richard William Kochansky died peacefully in the early morning of Ja. 13, 2022, at Kootenai Health after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Richard was born in Elizabeth, N.J., on Jan. 22, 1944, to first generation Polish-Americans, Hipolit Kochanowski and Victoria (Jablonski) Kochanowski.

Richard was very grateful to be able to attend St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, where he excelled at baseball and football, able to be inducted (2011) to the sports hall of fame. He went on to attend the College of the Holy Cross on a sports scholarship, particularly excelling in football.

After graduating from Holy Cross with a degree in history, Richard taught and coached at Archmere Academy in Delaware for several years. He continued to teach, this time at inner-city primary schools, while attending the University of Detroit Law School. He received his JD from the University of Detroit in 1970 and went on to earn a master of laws in taxation from Wayne State University. After working briefly for Chrysler Corporation, he went into private practice in Detroit, and continued there until relocating west to North Idaho in 1980. He was licensed in both Idaho and Washington, with his main office in Coeur d’Alene for the next 40+ years.

Richard was active for many years as a high school sports official for both football and baseball, as well as a volunteer official and coach at the community level. He volunteered for many local organizations through the years, including as volunteer attorney for Kootenai County YMCA and St. Vincent DePaul Society, assistant district administrator and umpire-in-chief for Little League baseball, president of the North Idaho Officials Association and in many leadership roles at Unity Spiritual Center of North Idaho.

Richard always had a heart and passion for teaching and for empowering young people. In addition to his early teaching positions, he taught history and political science at North Idaho College for over 20 years, finishing his final semester at NIC, just days prior to being diagnosed with cancer.

Richard loved the natural beauty of the Northwest, and one of his greatest joys was spending time outdoors, including long daily walks with his dog Max.

Richard is survived by his wife and best friend of 31 years, Jennifer, daughter Carrie Kehring (Doug), granddaughters Maggie and Katie, and “daughter of the heart” Julie Rose (Megan).

A memorial service for Richard will be held on May 7, 2022, at noon at Unity Spiritual Center of North Idaho, 4465 N. 15th Street, Coeur d’Alene. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in honor of Richard to a local charitable organization.