Benjamin H. Vester Jr., general manager of aerospace at Westinghouse Corp.’s Linthicum Defense and Electronics Systems, died of complications from dementia on Nov. 11 at Arden Courts in Riderwood. He was 98.

Born in Nashville, North Carolina, and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he was the son of Benjamin H. Vester, a radio and electronics enthusiast who sold hearing aids, and Marie Gladys Bain, a seamstress and homemaker.

He was a 1944 graduate of Maury High School and joined the Army Air Corps. When the war ended, he was assigned to the Army’s Airplane Mechanic School in Alabama.

“He learned so much about aircraft that helped him later in life,” said his daughter, Dr. Susan Vester Prevas.

After leaving the military, he entered Virginia Polytechnic Institute and earned an electrical engineering degree. He then joined Westinghouse’s Special Productions Division in Pittsburgh and was assigned to work on autopilots.

In 1951 he was transferred to Westinghouse’s Linthicum operation. He worked in the Air Arm Division on the BOMARC radar project and later on Project Gemini to create equipment used to land on the moon. He helped develop what is known as rendezvous radar.

“My father-in-law never claimed to be the one who put the man on the moon, but he worked on the Gemini project. He was a modest man and did not talk much about his work,” said his son-in-law, Dr. William Prevas. “He never took credit for the work he did himself. He was quick to credit the team who worked for him.”

Mr. Vester, who was not a confirmed smoker, nevertheless bummed cigarettes from his colleagues. He said that by entering their offices on the premise of asking for a smoke, he learned what was going on at Westinghouse.

He eventually became manager of electrical design and was later named general manager of aerospace at Westinghouse.

After living in Catonsville, Mr. Vester and his family moved to Ellicott City, where he maintained an 80-foot radio antenna on his property.

He retired in 1984 to spend more time sailing the Chesapeake Bay and the Inland Waterway. He developed an affection for sailing from other HAM radio enthusiasts and his Westinghouse coworkers.

“Because of his radio connections, he knew HAM operators from Baltimore to Florida and could radio ahead for accommodations as he sailed his Morgan 41 out of Baltimore,” his son-in-law said.

He also enjoyed time spent at his summer home on the Little Choptank River in Cambridge, Dorchester County.

He was married to Christine Capehart Vester, also of Norfolk, Virginia, for 61 years. She died in 2021.

Survivors include two daughters, Dr. Susan Vester Prevas of Lutherville and Bette Blair Wing of Ellicott City; a son, Benjamin H. Vester III of Columbia; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Services are private.

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