Published in the August 1 – 14, 2018 of Morgan Hill Life

Corey Koster

Corey Koster lived an adventurous life. Born June 9, 1993 in Fremont, the Morgan Hill resident died July 20 at the age of 25. He grew up in the San Joaquin Valley city of Tracy and graduated from Millennium High School before graduating as a car mechanic from WyoTech in Fremont.

Corey was an Eagle Scout with his Troop 503 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He loved cars, cooking, movies and making sure his friends and family had fun. He had a terrific sense of humor and always had laughter in his heart, making faces and doing silly voices to entertain people.

“He would do anything to put a smile on people’s faces,” said his girlfriend and life partner Rebecca Rael, who first met him when he was an employee at the East Dunne Avenue Safeway.

He leaves behind his father Mark Koster, stepmother Brenda Koster, stepfather David Peterson, younger brother Daniel Koster, stepsisters Amanda and Desiree. He was preceded in death by his mother, Tauna Peterson, who died last year. His Morgan Hill roommates were Maddison DeLucca, Josh Bidart and Tony Pisciotta. His grandparents, Duane and Astrid Workinger, helped raise Corey and his brother when his mother was a single parent.

Bidart remembers his friend’s love for fast cars. Corey was well-known in Morgan Hill for his 2013 Dodge Challenger SRT 392 painted red-line red which he enjoyed working on.

“Corey loved the thrill of going fast and feeling the power behind things,” said his high school best friend, Andrew. “Corey was fearless when it came to anything with a motor.”

He also had a passion for cooking and loved to barbecue. His specialties were ribs and shrimp-kabobs. He also liked to garden, growing ghost peppers and other spicy herbs.

The Morgan Hill resident started working at the East Dunne Avenue Safeway as a bagger and worked his way into the management program, working at the Tennant Avenue Safeway as well as stores in Hollister, Prunedale, Santa Cruz and Carmel. Within four years, he became the manager of the Pacific Grove store, becoming the youngest first-store manager in Safeway’s history.

Corey donated some of his organs and gave life to four local people.

A GoFundMe webpage called “Corey Koster SD Memorial Fund” has been set up.

A memorial service will be held in Tracey. More details will follow.