John R. "Bob" Estelle, 87, died June 30 at Good Samaritan Hospice Care Center, West Palm Beach, Fla. He and his wife, Shirley M. (Plourde) Estelle, had been married 63 years before her death Feb. 23. Viewing will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday with a service at 10 a.m. In the chapel of Palms West Funeral Home 100 Business Park Way, Royal Palm Beach. Mr. Estelle was born in West Springfield, Mass., the youngest child of Arnold and Margaret (Hutton) Estelle. He was a 1951 graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and received his master's degree in education from New York University. While at UMass, he lettered in football and baseball. He served as a corporal in the U.S. Army in 1947-48 in Korea, where he organized battalion softball leagues to boost troop morale. He was a teacher and coach from 1951-85 at Port Jefferson High School, now Earl L. Vandermeulen High School, in Suffolk County, Long Island, N.Y. During his career, he taught physical education and general science, and coached football, wrestling, baseball and basketball. He served as director of athletics, health and physical education for the Port Jefferson school district from 1968 until his retirement in 1985. In retirement, he coached the district's seventh- and eighth-grade football team for nine seasons. He had his greatest success as the high school's varsity football coach, including an undefeated season in 1959 and an overall record of 63-45-8. At the time, Port Jeff was one of the largest schools in Suffolk County, with an annual Thanksgiving Day rivalry with Patchogue that packed the bleachers with parents, students, alumni and village residents. He was named the Long Island Press scholastic football Coach of the Year in 1956, 1958 and 1959 for Suffolk County, and received a special honor from the New York State Coaches Association in 1981. He and his wife lived in Port Jefferson for more than 40 years, moving in 1994 to Laurel, Md., and later to Royal Palm Beach, Fla., where they lived the last 15 years of their 63-year marriage. Always an athlete, he played golf with passion and skill, including a hole-in-one on Father's Day in 1984 at the Harbor Hills Country Club in Port Jefferson. He is survived by his five children, Robert Estelle of Hobart, Ind.; Leanne Cornwell of West Palm Beach, Fla.; Claudia Hutton and her husband Joel Stashenko of Albany, N.Y.; Carol Southard and her husband James of Laurel, Md.; and William Estelle and his wife Lily (Pelayo) of Highland Falls, N.Y.; as well as eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, his children request donations in his memory to Good Samaritan Hospice, 1309 N. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33401, or to the charity of your choice.
