ENCINITAS, CA-Raphael A. Zoeller, 86, Captain USN, Retired died November 28th, in Scripps Memorial Hospital
Captain Zoeller was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated fromthe US Naval Academy at Annapolis with the Class of 1939. During World WarII, he served on four different destroyers as Chief Engineer, EXEC andCaptain, participating in operations in the Atlantic and in the North and SouthPacific. He was involved in the Allied landings in North Africa and Okinawa.
At the end of World War II, he was responsible for developing an EngineeringSchool for the Chinese Naval Training Center at Tsingtao, China. There hemet his future wife, Dorothy Anne Murphy of Worcester, MA, a Navy nurse. They were married almost 50 years until Dorothy’s death in 1995. Ray remained with the Navy, becoming Chief Engineer of the U.S.S. Missouri and serving on the staffs of the Atlantic Supreme Command and the Pacific Fleet Commander-in-Chief. He also participated in the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. In his final years with the Navy, Captain Zoeller was director of Naval Sciences at Tufts University NROTC.
In 1965 Captain Zoeller retired from the Navy and began a second career in education. He was Dean of Students at Wentworth Institute, and held administrative positions at Springfield Technical Community College. He remained active with the Retired Officers Association, serving as President of the New England chapter prior to his move to San Diego.
Captain Zoeller is survived by his four children, Susan Pantaleoni of Rancho Santa Fe, CA, Mary Zoeller of San Diego, CA, Raphael A. Zoeller of Arlington, MA, and Martha Sheehy of Stoughton, MA; a brother, Burkhardtt Zoeller of Louisville, KY; and four grandchildren. A brother Thomas Zoeller and a sister Mary Boone predeceased him.
The funeral will be Tuesday, December 4th from O’Connor Brothers Funeral Home, 592 Park Avenue with a Mass at 10:00 AM in Our Lady of the Angels Church, 1222 Main Street, Worcester. Burial will be in St. John’s Cemetery, Worcester. Calling hours will be held on Monday, December 3rd from 5:00 until 8:00 PM in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Passionist Mission in India, c/o Father Walter Kaelin, C.P., 5700 North Harlem Ave., Chicago, IL 60631.