September 1, 1937 - July 20, 2019
Penelope Ann Koch (neÌe Godfrey) M.D., 81, of Parksville, B.C. passed away on July 20, 2019 after a brief hospitalization. Penny was born on September 1, 1937 to Monica (neÌe Truzzel) and Dudley Godfrey in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where her father worked as a civil engineer. The family moved to Revelstoke in 1948 and then to Prince George in 1950, where she attended public schools. In the fall of that year, Penny matriculated at Crofton House in Vancouver, graduating in 1954.
After completing the Nursing program at Vancouver General Hospital in 1958, Penny went on to the University of British Columbia receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1959. Her marriage in 1960 to Dr. Peter Koch ended in divorce. Penny attended Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia graduating in 1969 and completed her internship and residency at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. In 1971 she returned to Philadelphia furthering her research in Hematology and Oncology and in 1978 became Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the UPenn School of Medicine all the while treating children living with cancer like a plastic anemia and leukemia at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. By 1980 she was the Associate Director of the Pediatric Transplant Team which focused on stem cell transplantation.
In 1981, Penny was recruited by McGill University to help build a transplant team at Montreal Children's Hospital and teach Pediatrics and Oncology at the faculty of Medicine. And in 1998 she moved to Vancouver to support her parents and continued her medical practice at Vancouver Children's Hospital. Over the course of her career she published numerous papers dealing the care of children with cancer.
Penny became a Master Gardener at the VanDusen Gardens in Vancouver and loved giving tours. She volunteered on several strata boards. Penny was strong, independent and driven. She enjoyed several naturalist trips to the Canadian Arctic had a keen sense of adventure. Penny spent many winters with her family in Stowe, Vermont and was an avid cross-country skier. She could tackle the New York Times Crossword from any day of the week and was a wonderful knitter, making beautiful sweaters that were cherished and worn proudly by her nieces. After retiring in 2002, Penny spent time tending her orchids, enjoying good food and wine, spoiling her Siamese cats, assisting at Milner Gardens and basking in the view of the Strait of Georgia.
Penny is survived by her brothers Colin (Gay) of Simsbury, CT and John (Lynn) of Campbell River, B.C. She was a favorite of her nieces and nephew: Jill (Warren) Moxam of Burnaby, Michael (Vanessa) of Prince George, Miriam (Adam) Lewis of Bloomfield CT, Kathryn Godfrey of Wilmington, DE and Micaela Godfrey of Berlin, MA.