THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 30, 1995 TAG: 9509300233
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: GLOUCESTER LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Retired U.S. Navy Capt. William Masek Jr., 72, died Wednesday, Sept. 27, 1995, at his home ``Matsuda'' in Ware Neck.
Capt. Masek served for 32 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy before retiring to Gloucester in December 1974.
He was born in Pensacola, Fla., on Oct. 18, 1922, the son of Cmdr. William Masek, USN, and Mildred Helm. He graduated from Coronado High School in California in 1941 and attended the University of California, Berkeley, class of 1944. He was in the Naval ROTC program and received his commission in February of 1944.
He served on the submarine USS Barb on some of its most dangerous and successful war patrols off the coast of northern Japan in 1945. Details of the patrols were recently chronicled in the book ``Thunder Below'' by the commanding officer, Eugene Fluckey. After the war he attended the Navy Post Graduate School in Annapolis, where he met his wife, Marjorie Ellen Hayter.
Capt. Masek commanded the USS Sabalo in Pearl Harbor before serving two assignments in Scotland as an exchange officer with the Royal Navy and as executive officer of the USS Proteus. After serving in California as commander of Submarine Division 52, he attended the Naval War College in Newport, R.I., and earned a master of science degree from George Washington University. He next served on the staff of Commander Submarines Atlantic in Norfolk, where he was promoted to the rank of captain. From there he returned to Great Britain for a tour on the NATO Submarine staff at HMS Dolphin Royal Navy Submarine Base in Gosport, Hampshire. Capt. Masek finished his career as the naval adviser to the Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala., before retiring in 1974.
A veteran of World War II, the Korean War, Formosa Straits Crisis, and the Vietnam War, Capt. Masek's military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit and the Navy Commendation Medal. During his retirement in Gloucester, he was active in the community, taught math and science at the Gloucester Day School, and served as a member of the Vestry at Ware Episcopal Church. He also belonged to the A.P.V.A., Disabled American Veterans, Gloucester Historical Society, Ware River Yacht Club, and the Retired Officers of Mathews County. Always drawn to the sea, he pursued his interest in sailing and completed a transatlantic crossing in a 32-foot sailboat as a navigator in 1986 at the age of 64.
Capt. Masek is survived by his wife, Marjorie Ellen; three children, Margaret Maurine Ulsaker of Ware Neck, Miles Hayter Masek of Ware Neck, and Helen Helm Masek of Herndon, Va.; and one grandchild, Oliver Winston Ulsaker of Ware Neck.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Ware Episcopal Church by the Rev. Daniel O. Worthington Jr. Burial is being planned for Oct. 19, 1995, at 1 p.m. in the Arlington National Cemetery with full Military honors. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made in remembrance of his career as a sailor and his love of the sea and this area to the Mathews County Land Conservancy, Williams Wharf Project, P.O. Box 306, Mathews, Va. 23109. The Andrews Funeral Home, Gloucester, is in charge.
KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY by CNB