Christine Koch and her husband, Peter, were enjoying an afternoon at a state fair when they came across a presentation featuring a hypnotist. Both found the demonstration intriguing, but for Peter, the experience with the hypnotist lingered in his mind. One day, he turned to Christine and asked, “Do you think hypnotism would have helped Barbara?”
The Kochs had met in 1967 through the Seattle branch of The Mountaineers and discovered they had much in common. Christine’s parents had immigrated from Germany to the United States with her when she was just a toddler, and Peter emigrated from Germany when he was 22. They shared a love of nature, adventure and lifelong learning. In 1968, they were married.
Before meeting Christine, Peter had dated Barbara for some time. Months after they broke up, she died by suicide, after having struggled with depression for years. “It really distressed him,” says Christine. “He always carried a sense of survivor’s guilt.”
While Christine didn’t know if hypnotism could have helped, she felt there was one place that might have an answer. So she called UW Medicine.
It was a conversation that wouldn’t just change the trajectory of their lives, but through their generosity, many others.
An opportunity to advance science
Christine was pleasantly surprised to find that doctors at UW Medicine were open to meeting with them. First, they connected with Dr. Richard Veith, then chief of UW Medicine’s Psychiatric Services, and later Dr. Barbara McCann, a professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
The Kochs learned that while hypnosis was mostly used for pain suppression, it had promising potential for mental health — but funding for research was scarce. They began thinking about making a gift to support studies exploring how hypnosis might help treat people with depression.
In 2008, they established the Mental Health Counseling and Hypnosis Endowed Chair to support research and clinical activities in mental health counseling and the use of hypnosis, and later the Depression Therapy Research Endowed Professorship to specifically address depression.
It was such a rewarding experience that they decided to do more.
Expanding their philanthropy to train medical leaders
“We asked Dr. Veith where the highest need was, and he emphasized help for students to become doctors,” says Christine.
Dr. Veith explained that there was a shortage of medical providers, particularly in rural communities. He said that while the UW School of Medicine’s WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) program made medical education accessible to rural students, the burden of tuition and loans often drove them to practice in higher-paying cities or specialties.
That led the Kochs in 2014 to establish a scholarship fund to support students who are committed to practicing in underserved communities.
“After Peter died in 2017, I figured that if students are saddled with a lot of debt but can’t earn enough in some communities to repay it, it doesn’t make sense,” says Christine. “So I increased the aid.”
What Christine didn’t realize at the time was how meaningful it would be to her personally.
“Meeting the scholarship recipients, hearing their stories, is really one of the highlights of my life. I’m in awe of them,” she says. “They’re so dedicated, they work very hard, and some come from really difficult circumstances. Others might be the first to go to college, let alone medical school.”
One of those recipients is Debora Ferede, who is currently in her second year of medical school. A first-generation college student, her parents emigrated from Ethiopia and raised Ferede in South King County.
In a recent letter of thanks to Christine, she shared, “As a scholarship recipient, I no longer experience the financial pressures of attending medical school. Instead, I am allowed to follow my passion for primary care and support patients in urban clinical settings. This opportunity has given me the foundation I need to become a physician for the communities that raised me and to provide a helping hand to future generations as a community-based physician and advocate…Your investment in students like me not only empowers us to achieve our goals, but it also inspires us to give back to our communities.”
For Christine, the gratitude of students like Ferede underscored the value of building an even deeper connection with UW Medicine.
Creating a lasting impact through planned giving
The Kochs became interested in making a planned gift — charitable contributions arranged through an estate plan, will, or trust to create a lasting legacy. They decided to create a charitable remainder unitrust (CRT) that provides income to designated individuals for life or up to 20 years and may also offer tax benefits. At the end of the term, the remaining assets go to the University of Washington for its designated purpose.
