Edward Charles Drozd Sr.

Edward “Coach” Charles Drozd Sr., 89, passed away peacefully on Oct. 10, 2012, at the Clyde E. Lassen State Veterans’ Nursing Home in St. Augustine, Fla.

He was born in Passaic, N.J., in 1923 but was raised in Riverhead, N.Y. Ed was a graduate of Riverhead High School, Class of 1941. He attended Colgate University until he volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II, serving as a radio operator coding and decoding messages in the European Theater of Operations. A man of “The Greatest Generation,” Ed was honorably discharged in 1946, returned home, became a member of the Riverhead Royals semi-pro football team and ran the family business, Doc’s Tavern, until moving to St. Augustine in 1957 with his wife and four children.

Ed built and ran the Islander Cocktail Lounge until 1964, when he became head coach and taught at St. Joseph Academy. A member of Mensa, Ed graduated with a B.A. and M.A. in education from Jacksonville University. From 1973 until his retirement in 1990, Ed taught at St. Augustine High School.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, June C. Drozd; his daughters, Carol Kirk of St. Augustine and Patricia Kenney (Bill) of Jacksonville; his sons, Edward (Debbie) and Terence (Linda) of St. Augustine; a half-sister, Mary Ann Patricio of Riverhead; a half-brother, John Zoltowski of St. Augustine; 10 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, at Craig Funeral Home, St. Augustine. A funeral Mass will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. Interment will follow at San Lorenzo Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph, P.O. Box 3506, St. Augustine, FL 32085 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Craig Funeral Home Crematory Memorial Park (craigfuneralhome.com) is handling arrangements.

This is a paid notice.