Adele Koehnen

Adele U. Koehnen, 91, of Kettering, died suddenly on Saturday, May 18, 2013. A lifelong Daytonian, she was preceded in death by her parents, Gerard and Eleonora Unverferth, brother Harold Unverferth, and two loving husbands Robert J. Schweller and John J. Koehnen. She is survived by her daughter Elaine Schweller-Snyder and son-in-law Chip Snyder of Sidney, and many nieces, nephews, and dear friends.
Adele graduated from Julienne High School and the University of Dayton. She also studied dramatic art at Proctor's School. In 1944, she started at WHIO Radio writing continuity, and did on-air work with a 15-minute Saturday morning show "The Feminine Spotlight" and Monday-through-Friday segments as Cornelia, an on-air shopper for Rike's Department Store. She left WHIO in 1947 to marry her high school sweetheart Robert Schweller. Their daughter was born in 1951.
In 1956, Adele was hired by the brand new Kettering-Oakwood Times as Women's Editor; she also wrote a slice-of-life humor column called "The Line's Busy" by Adele Louise. Eleven years later, she left the Times and began freelance writing for "Leisure," a Sunday supplement of the Dayton Daily News. She later moved to the Neighbors section as a Hereabouts columnist and contributed numerous feature articles including an historical series about places in Kettering called "Now and Then." Always looking forward, thinking of that next story, she was still writing for Neighbors at the time of her death.
A former president of the UD Mother's Club and an avid UD basketball fan, Adele was a season-ticket holder for over 65 years, attending games with her daughter. She was a devout Catholic and woman of great Faith who loved musicals, words, and a good game of scrabble.
A memorial Mass will be held at noon on Thursday at St. Albert the Great Church, Kettering. Friends may greet the family from 10 a.m. to noon in the Gathering Space at the church.
The family requests no flowers. Instead please send donations in Adele's name to St. Albert the Great Church, Lehman Catholic High School (2400 St. Marys Avenue, Sidney OH 45365), or the University of Dayton Champions and Scholars Fund.