Sheila Koch, of Grafton, WI, passed away the evening of Tuesday, September 29, surrounded by her loving family and friends. She was 52 years old. Sheila was born in Milwaukee, WI, to parents Kurt and Jane (nee Valent) Milach. On October 7, 2000, she was united in marriage to Dean Koch at St. Robert Parish, in Shorewood, WI. Together they raised two children.

Sheila attended grade school at St. Robert Catholic School in Shorewood, WI. She had her first job at her grandparents’ establishment named Valent’s, where she would bus tables on roller skates starting at age 7. This earned her the nickname Sheila Bus b. She attended Shorewood High School and went to college at Mount Mary in Milwaukee, WI. Sheila made a career out of travel and worked long term at Adelman Travel Corporation as an Operations Manager. She went on to co-own Chief River Nursery and various other business ventures with her husband Dean. She was an asset to every place she worked. Her hard work ethic and style of managing people was infectious.

Sheila was a remarkable woman by all standards and was loved by everyone she met. Her beautiful warm smile was welcoming and her gentle and tender kindness always shined through the first time you met her. Sheila had an unshakable faith in God, and her faith was an inspiration to many. She loved praying and attending mass and celebrating in many Catholic sacraments and traditions. She prayed for others and felt extreme gratitude when others prayed for her. There was nothing more fulfilling for her than hearing about someone who experienced a deepening of their faith through praying for her.

The center of Sheila’s world was her family. Her deep love for Abby, Matt and her husband Dean was well known. Her family of four were extremely close and she would often refer to them as her “four pack”. The family spent meaningful time together at her house in Saint Germain, where you would find her sitting on the balcony overlooking the lake or taking a long boat ride. She loved to travel throughout the U.S. and abroad. One city she was particularly fond of was Boston. Sheila loved noodles, even her email address had lovenoodles in it. Her family would often travel on food vacations to Boston just to eat in the popular North End Italian district.

Sheila practiced extreme generosity in everything she did. She had a sweet tooth and used her expertise in the kitchen to cook and bake for the family and friends she loved hosting. At her favorite time of year, Christmas, her house would be filled with the smell of toffee, peppermint and chocolate for weeks. She was known for carefully packaging and distributing her bakery to friends and family around the holidays. She also took the time to needlepoint Christmas stockings for each new child born into the relation and would create dozens of custom calendars for family, never forgetting to include all the important dates. She never forgot a date as her memory of the milestones of others was impeccable. Sheila was also a generous philanthropist, lending substantial support to her church and various Catholic and other charities, the schools her children attended, and many individuals in need. She always did this from the shadows and never wanted a spotlight on her generosity.

Sheila loved being outside, snuggling by the warmth of a fire, and listening to music. She never met a pack of colored pens or markers she didn’t like, as she would buy and use them in her own crafty and artistic way. She participated in faith and book clubs where she made lifelong friends. She grew fond of live acting and theatre in her 20’s, when Sheila and Dean would regularly accompany his parents to The Fireside Theatre. She was excited to watch her children perform in various musicals and choirs at their grade schools and high schools.

Sheila will be deeply missed, and the world will never be the same without her. The light she brought into the world has not been extinguished, but rather passed on to her children, her husband and her family and friends. It is now our job to emulate Sheila and all she stood for. Thank you all for your daily prayers and messages of support. They lifted Sheila and our family up, and for that we are forever grateful.

Sheila is survived by her husband, Dean, and their children, Abigail and Matthew; her mother Jane Milach, and her father Kurt Milach; her aunts and uncles Margie Kostohryz, Jim (Patricia) Valent, Ed (Tere) Valent, Joan (the late Mike) Valent-Bednarz; her cousins George Nicolaus, Geoffrey Valent, Madeline Valent, James Henry Valent, Sarah Valent-Stribling, Kere Valent, and Michael Bednarz.

Sheila is preceded in death by baby Josephine who was lost before birth.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Sheila at St. Francis Borgia North, 1375 Covered Bridge Rd. Cedarburg, WI 53012, on Friday, October 9, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. The family will greet visitors from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., followed by the service. Sheila will be laid to rest at St. Francis Borgia Cemetery immediately following the Mass.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Saint Francis Borgia Catholic Church in Cedarburg, WI or Lilies of Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Grafton, WI.