Rear Admiral Stephen J. Hostettler, USN, Ret.

Stephen John Hostettler, Rear Admiral, USN Retired, passed away peacefully and in grace on November 4, 2011, while in the presence of loved ones in Torrance, California, and after a courageous and dignified battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Stephen began life on August 23, 1931, the first born to Ernest and Frances-Bays Hostettler in Evansville, Indiana. As a young boy his family relocated to southern California at a time when orchards outnumbered people. He returned with his family to Indiana in 1942, to work his grandfather's farm in Sullivan, and then eventually to Bedford Indiana, where Steve graduated from Bedford High School in 1949. A Vice Presidential appointment to the United States Naval Academy followed with Stephen’s graduation in 1953, and his marriage in that same year to Miss Lucy Ann Ingalls of Bedford, a history major at Mary Washington University, who also shared an August 23 birthday, and to whom he stood beside as loyal and dedicated Husband, Father, Naval Officer, and loving provider for fifty-five years. Rear Admiral Hostettler pursued an esteemed naval career spanning thirty-three years in Surface Weapons command. During the course of his service, he commanded the USS Cochrane DDG-21 (1970-71), and the USS Halsey DLG/ CG-23 (1977-79). In 1979 he was appointed Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Korea and Director of U.N. Armistice Commission in support of the United Nations Command headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Returning to the United States in 1981, the Rear Admiral was appointed Director of Surface Warfare Combat Systems at the Pentagon, before being assigned Director of the Tomahawk SLCM, Joint Cruise Missile Project in 1982. The successful transition from development to production of the Tomahawk SLCM was accomplished with it’s operational deployment in 1984. Having been awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal ,Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medals, Rear Admiral Hostettler retired from the Navy in 1986, and shortly thereafter entered the private sector to became the VP and Director of Programs and Engineering in the Propulsion Division of Atlantic Research Corporation, in Gainesville, Virginia. Upon retiring from ARC in 1991, Stephen and Lucy Ann enjoyed abroad, the many cultural amenities of Washington DC, time with friends and family, gardening and HO train hobbies from their home in Annandale, Virginia, until Lucy Ann’s passing from complications of Alzheimer's disease in 2008. Stephen is survived by his fiancé Myra Bearman of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, who lived with and lovingly cared for him in recent years; daughter, Katherine; son, Stephen Jr., and his wife Valerie and two grandsons; one brother and three sisters; nieces and nephews; and Myra Bearman's daughter and son and their respective families. Memorial Services to honor and celebrate this most extraordinary man, and distinguished Naval Officer, will be held on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, beginning at 11:00 EST, at the Ft. Myer Old Post Chapel, followed by a Full Honors Burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Communications may be directed to Katherine Hostettler at [email protected] or via mail at 1078 South Gaylord Street, Denver, CO 80209.