PORTLAND – Lillian M. Koch, 78, resident of Higgins Street in Lisbon Falls, died Sunday, Feb. 1, at Maine Medical Center after a long illness.

She was born Aug. 17, 1930, in Bronx, N.Y.. a daughter of Frank A. and Helen (Kaestler) Koch. She was educated in New York schools and graduated from Woodville High School in Mississippi in 1948.

She entered the military and served her country in the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1972. She served in various locations in the U.S., including Illinois, Florida, California, Texas and also at the Brunswick Naval Air Station, where she was a flight simulator instructor. She received a diploma in junior accounting from South Texas Commercial College in 1973.

After her retirement from the Navy, she began a second career at Bath Iron Works, where she was part of the CG-51 load out team that helped to build the first AEGIS Class Cruiser the U.S.S. Gates. She retired from BIW in 1995 after 20 years of service.

She enjoyed spending time playing handheld games, watching Turner Classic movies on TV, keeping up with current events by reading the morning paper, singing various church hymns and show tunes and especially enjoyed spending time with her beloved dog, “Archie.”

Survivors include two cousins, Joe and his wife, Carol Koch, of California, and Paul and his wife, Kathleen Schultz, of Maryland; as well as a very special friend and caretaker, Denise Brennan of Bowdoin.

She was predeceased by a sister, Helen A. Koch in 2001.