Katherine Dontenville, the seventh child of Nicolas Dontenville and Philomena Kleinprintz was born in Brooklyn, New York September 20, 1897. Katherine was responsible for her parents conversion from Catholicism to the Seventh Day Adventist Church. When she heard the Church choir and the music from their church on Saturday evenings, she was so taken that she persuaded her parents to attend one of the services. So began their new religious affiliation.

Katherine was baptized into the Seventh Day Adventist Church on April 10, 1915. Shortly after that she met her future husband Charles Koppel, known later in life as Karl. Katherine persuaded Karl to convert from his Lutheran religion to Seventh Day Adventist. Karl and Katherine were married on November 26, 1917. Their first child, Albert was born on their first wedding anniversary in 1918. In 1919 Karl and Katherine moved to an apartment in the Ridgewood community of Queens, New York with Katherine's parents. In 1921, Karl and Katherine made a trip to visit Karl's family in Novi-Vrbas Hungary, which is now a part of Yugoslavia. Their second son Ural was born there on August 17, 1921.

From Ridgewood, Queens both families moved to New Jersey. Nicolas and Philomena purchased a farm in Allentown, New Jersey where he continued to be a dairy farmer. Katherine and Karl purchased a home in Robbinsville, New Jersey and built a knitting mill on the property. Karl invented the first knitting loom that produced brocaded fabric. He eventually sold his patent to Bamberger Department Stores, which later became R. H. Macy & Co.

During the depression years Karl bought properties at foreclosure and began operating a 240-acre farm while still running United Knitting Mills, Inc. Their third son Lawrence Koppel was born in New Jersey August 18, 1927. Lawrence died at the young age of 14 from a skull fracture on May 18, 1942 after falling from his bicycle Ural died August 21,1960 from a brain tumor believed to be a result of farm chemicals.

Katherine died August 17, 1991 in New Jersey and Karl died on his 105th. birthday, February 10, 1992 at the home of his son Albert in New Market, Virginia.

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