Raymond E. Custer, 91, passed at home in Yalaha, Florida on Saturday, February 28.

Ray Custer was a World War II veteran having flown with 484th Bombardment Group in B25 Liberator bombers.

The wing was originally activated in 1943 as the 484th Bombardment Group as a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat unit. The group served primarily in the Mediterranean, African, and The Middle East Theatres of World War II. During operations from Italy, it twice was awarded with Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC) for missions in Germany and Austria. When hostilities in Europe ended, the group was assigned to expedite the movement of troops and equipment from Europe back to the United States

After World War II, he returned to his home in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Subsequently, he began a distinguished career with the Department of Defense, working from Ft. Belvoir, Virginia and the Pentagon as well as traveling throughout the world.

Ray worked in the area of computerized artillery with projects such as FADAC and TACFIRE system automated Field Artillery command and control functions. It was composed of computers and remote devices. Currently there is one surviving example of FADAC at the Fort Sill artillery museum.

When Ray and his wife, Virginia, retired, they moved to Island Estates in Clearwater, Florida. Both were very civic minded and became involved in their community.

They were among a group of volunteers who decided to establish a permanent marine biology learning center in the Clearwater area. They were incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under the name Clearwater Marine Science Center (CMSC). In 1978, the city of Clearwater agreed to donate the aquarium's current facility, an abandoned water treatment plant, to CMSC. With its huge holding tanks and bayside location, the building was a perfect fit for a marine facility's needs . The Clearwater Marine Science Center is now known as the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and is the home of Winter, the dolphin.

Ray and Virginia later moved from Clearwater to New Smyrna Beach, Florida where they built a home on the Atlantic Ocean. They were members of Sugar Mill Golf Club and became avid golfers.

Ray continued to be an involved citizen and was appointed to the Utilities Commission and ultimately was named Chairman.

In their later years, Ray and Virginia had moved to Lake County, Florida to be closer to family.

Ray is survived by daughter Patty Custer of Chambersburg, PA, stepdaughters, Mary Frances Pushman of Macon, GA and Jean Seawell of Howey in the Hills, FL.

His wife, Virginia Custer and his son, Michael Richard Custer, predeceased him.