Bernard Joseph “Ben” Coski, Jr., died Saturday, August 1, 2009, at the age of 80. He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Linda Willoughby Coski, and by his parents, Bernard Joseph Coski, Sr., and Sophia Chmielewski Coski. He is survived by his children, daughters Joannie Elizabeth Moses, Sara Adrienne Birtles Rupert, and son, John Matthew Coski Ruth Ann; six grandchildren, Sgt. Daniel Schell Dawn, Elizabeth Moses, Rebecca Moses, Nicholas Birtles, Timothy Birtles, and Gillian Birtles; one great-granddaughter, Stephanie Schell; his siblings, Richard E. Coski Evelyn, John W. Cory Ethel, Jean T. Lach Frank, and Barbara A. Gasior David; and by his cherished companion, Mrs. Rosemary Barringer.

Born and raised in Cleveland and Euclid, Ohio, Ben graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952 and returned to teach at the Academy in the early 1960s. He served in the Korean War, was an officer aboard the USS Harwood DD-681 and several other ships, and was a communications officer in Danang during the Vietnam War. He retired from the U.S. Navy as a commander in 1974.

Following his retirement from the Navy, he worked as a detail representative for Block Drug Corporation and managed the downtown Norfolk office of Norstar Brokerage Corporation. He was a scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 412 in the mid-1970s, volunteered at the Church of the Ascension in Virginia Beach, and supported many charitable causes, especially conservation and wildlife foundations.

Funeral plans are pending. Memorial gifts can be made to the Church of the Ascension, 4853 Princess Anne Rd., Virginia Beach, 23462, or to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation www.cbf.org. Cremation Society of Virginia, Hampton Roads office, is assisting the family. Online condolences may be made at www.cremate.org .