M. Oliver Koelsch, Federal Appeals Judge

M. Oliver Koelsch, a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1959, has died after battling cancer for several years. He was 80.

Judge Koelsch died Tuesday in Seattle, where he worked as a senior judge with a reduced caseload. The court handles federal appeals in nine Western states.

Judge Koelsch was appointed to the federal court by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1959. He took senior status in 1976.

A native of Boise, Idaho, he attended the University of Washington and its Law School, then practiced law in Idaho from 1936 to 1950, including six years as a county prosecutor.

In 1951, he was elected as a District Court judge in Idaho, filling a vacancy created when his father, Charles Koelsch, retired after 20 years on the bench.

Judge Koelsch is survived by his wife, Virginia, of Seattle; two daughters, Katherine Kriken of San Francisco and Jane Houghton of Spokane, and a son, John Oliver Koelsch of San Francisco; a sister, Dorothy Kickhaefer, New York City; and a brother, Dr. C. Frederick Koelsch of St. Paul, Minn.; and two grandchildren, both of Spokane.