Two of the first “coin” people that I met when I moved to Lancaster thirty years ago were John Eshbach and Jerry Kochel. Both became mentors to me, especially in relation to my involvement with the Red Rose Coin Club, PAN, and the ANA. After the very successful 2000 ANA World’s Fair of Money in Philadelphia, Jerry and I became board members of the now-defunct Eastern States Numismatic Association (ESNA). ESNA and the Red Rose Coin Club served as the co-host clubs for the 2000 World’s Fair of Money.

Tom Sebring, who passed away earlier this year, would host ESNA board meetings at his home in Paoli, and Jerry and I would car-pool over to the meetings. This is when I really got to know Jerry and his life story. One of my favorite Jerry Kochel expressions was his definition of an expert. He shied away from being called a coin expert, and if someone complimented him with this title, he would reply: “An expert is someone that is more than 50 miles from home carrying a brief case.” Of course, Jerry rarely carried a briefcase! (Only if he was setting up one of his award-winning exhibits at a coin show would he have a brief case.)

Shortly before the 2010 ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston, Jerry underwent a surgical procedure to alleviate “blood on his brain” (intracerebral hemorrhage). It was the first ANA convention that Jerry had missed since the early 1970s. This emergency surgery would lead to other health complications for Jerry, and eventually led to him moving into a retirement community with his wife, Sandie Adams Kochel. Jerry will be sorely missed by all that were privileged to have known him.