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Allen Koster Obituary
Westlake Village, CA
Al Koster died peacefully in Thousand Oaks, CA on December 25th, 2017 at the age of 95. He was born in Cleveland, OH to Carl and Helen Koster. His family moved to Rocky River, OH his senior year in high school where he met the love of his life, Carol Jean Woodruff.
Al was large in spirit and intellect, with an open mind and open heart. He was a fiercely independent man of great depth and confidence, yet resisted imposing his will upon his family or friends.
At the start of WWII he received his degree in Mechanical Engineering from Case Institute of Technology, then attended the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD. During WWII he served as an officer on destroyer escorts hunting Japanese submarines in the Pacific. The Navy recalled him for the Korean War where he served on destroyers and after the war was an officer on the aircraft carrier Intrepid for its journey from San Francisco to Virginia to be refitted.
In civilian life Al had a long and fascinating career that included work on the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier, and project manager for construction of chemical plants and petroleum refineries around the world. In the Sixties and Seventies he managed an engineering firm first in Rome, Italy, then Paris, France. He was most proud of his work as head of design and construction of the first U.S. large-scale rocket fuel plant that powered the early space race and the Apollo moon landings.
Though he and Carol met while quite young, they were married at the end of WWII and were together more than 69 'Golden' years. They were both graceful and gracious, full of wit, humor, and love for each other and their family.
He is predeceased by his wife Carol and brother Dick, and survived by his brothers Ken and Bill, sons Todd, Tim, Bart, and Brian, grandchildren Darryl, Dana, Thomas, Amelia, Evan, Michael, and Graceanne, and great-grandchildren Westley and Rory.
Services will be held at 2 PM, Saturday, January 27th at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, CA.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Allen Koster
Sponsored by Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park.
1 Entry
Ramanathan Kumarappan
January 22, 2018
Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. May God give you and your family the strength and courage to bear this pain. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
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Jan
27
Service
2:00 p.m.
Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, CA 91362
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Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, CA 91362
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