After a brief illness, Judge Frank W. Koger, Bankruptcy Court Judge for the Western District of Missouri, passed away on January 3, 2003. He was 72. Judge Koger was a lifelong resident of Kansas City, Missouri, where he attended Sanford B. Ladd grade school, Central Junior High, and Central High School. In 1951, he received his bachelor's degree with honors from Kansas City University. He went on to receive his law degree from the Kansas City University School of Law in 1953, where he graduated first in his class. He later received his Master of Laws degree in 1965 from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
From 1953 to 1956, he served as a Staff Judge Advocate in the United States Air Force. After that he began what proved to be a 30 year career in the practice of commercial law. He first went to work for the firm of Shockley Reid, where he became a named partner. He later went on to establish the firm of Reid, Koger & Reid. In 1983 and 1984, he was elected president of the Commercial Law League of America, the nation's oldest organization of active professionals in the practice of bankruptcy and commercial law.
In 1986, he was appointed as a Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Missouri. He served as the Chief Bankruptcy Judge from 1989 until 2000. During his time with the bankruptcy court, Judge Koger oversaw thousands of bankruptcy cases and developed a reputation for being knowledgeable, fair, and compassionate. He was known to never patronize the debtors who appeared before him, but he also required that they fulfill their promises to the court. To quote Bankruptcy Judge Arthur B. Federman, he not only "gave people the results they deserved in their cases, he also gave them the dignity they deserved. No matter what their education or economic circumstances, he treated everyone in his courtroom with the utmost respect."
Judge Koger also expressed concern over the state of the nation's bankruptcy courts. In 1997, as the president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, he urged Congress to appoint more bankruptcy judges to deal with complex litigation. He is quoted as saying, "... [j]ust as important, is making the individuals who come to our courts feel that they have had a considered and adequate and courteous opportunity to present their problem and have it considered by an arbiter of justice, rather than an overworked and harried person who lacks the time to be anything other that an order signer."
In his spare time Judge Koger was an avid bridge player and gardener. He is survived by his wife and two daughters. He will be greatly missed.
