On Saturdays, as a young boy Bill James rode shotgun in a 1978 brown, Ford Pinto station wagon, the AM radio crackling as it bounced between stations. His grandfather drove. Bill carried the flowers.
They made deliveries throughout town, stopping at familiar places for lunch—John’s Bar, the VFW, Willie’s. To a child, it felt like an errand. To Bill now, it feels like a foundation.
“I didn’t appreciate it at the time,” James said. “I was a kid. I wanted to go play. But having spent all that time with my grandfather—I reflect back on it now. It’s very rewarding.”
Those Saturdays were part of a much longer story—one that began in 1940, when Bill’s grandfather, Eugene H. Kocher, founded Kocher’s Flowers in Mars.
Kocher purchased a small greenhouse for $25 and began growing and selling flowers from a location near Spring and Church streets. It was a hands-on operation rooted in long days, physical labor, and close ties to the community.
In the late 1940s, the original greenhouse and building were destroyed, forcing Eugene and his wife, Lucille, to rebuild the business from the ground up—an early test of resilience that would come to define Kocher’s Flowers for generations.
Bill grew up inside that history. As his grandfather’s health declined, Bill became his runner, hopping out of the car to deliver arrangements while Eugene stayed behind the wheel. It was work before it felt like work—education without a classroom.
In 1978, Eugene sold the business to his youngest daughter, Rebecca Gene Kocher James, and her husband, William James Sr., ensuring the shop remained family-owned. Eugene stayed involved in a semi-retired role, lending a hand when needed as the business continued serving weddings, funerals, and everyday milestones.
Bill became the third-generation owner in 1999, purchasing the business from his parents at age 29. The family’s floral tradition, he notes, stretches even further back—four generations to Germany—where earlier relatives trained as florists before settling in western Pennsylvania.
In its early decades, Kocher’s Flowers operated as both a grower and retailer. Greenhouses were heated with coal, and on bitter nights Eugene slept inside to ensure the heat didn’t fail. Pesticides were harsh and unregulated, practices that later took a toll on his health.
Over time, the business evolved with the industry. Today, Kocher’s Flowers is a retail-only operation, with most cut flowers arriving from Central and South America, supplemented by shipments from California, Canada, and Holland through regional distribution centers.
The shop remains intentionally small. On average, Kocher’s Flowers handles 20 to 30 orders a day, designing thousands of arrangements each year—more than 8,200 in 2025 alone.
But Bill didn’t learn design from a textbook.
One Christmas in the late 1980s, his parents were overwhelmed. Holiday orders were piling up, and a funeral arrangement still needed to be completed.
“I said, ‘I can do it,’” James recalled.
They were skeptical. Bill had no formal training—only years of watching.
“I ended up doing a spray that sat above the casket,” he said. “They were blown away.”
That moment changed everything. Bill discovered he could design by sight, trusting instinct sharpened through observation. It’s how he still works today.
Mondays now begin early. Buckets are cleaned. Water is replaced. Stems are cut, conditioned, and hydrated. Orders are adjusted daily based on funerals, weddings, weather, and availability.
Funeral arrangements account for about 25 percent of the business. Weddings average 10 to 12 a year, while proms, holidays, and everyday moments fill the rest of the calendar. There is no longer a slow season.
James estimates he drives nearly 50,000 miles a year, delivering flowers throughout Mars, Cranberry, Valencia, Gibsonia, and surrounding communities—sometimes traveling even farther for longtime customers.
Nearly nine decades after Eugene Kocher first opened the doors, the Kocher name remains—not because time stood still, but because the business kept moving forward, one delivery at a time.
Earlier this year, that legacy was formally recognized when Kocher’s Flowers received a citation from State Senator Elder Vogel Jr. and the Pennsylvania Senate, marking the business’s 85th anniversary.
Inside the shop, the business runs as a partnership. Bill handles most of the design work. His wife, Lori, manages the website, emails, billing, and the systems that keep operations running day to day.
“I couldn’t do this without my wife,” James said. “It takes the two of us to make this work.”
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