A funeral Mass will be held May 31 for Deacon John Coster at St. John in Westminster, where he ministered for two decades. He died April 2 at the age of 91 in Winter Park, Fla.
The Pittsfield, Mass., native was ordained a permanent deacon Sept. 13, 1986, and served at St. John in Westminster from 1986-2006. After retiring in 2008 after a brief leave of absence, he continued his ministry at the Little Sisters of the Poor facility in Catonsville.
Deacon Coster graduated from St. Joseph Central High School in Pittsfield. He earned degrees from SUNY Morrisville and what is now Notre Dame of Maryland University.
He was married to the former Ann B. Couture of Pittsfield for 55 years before her death.
After moving to Maryland in 1968, he lived in Reisterstown and Catonsville before moving to Florida in 2020.
He worked as a sales executive for nearly 35 years and spent most of his career at Bush Boake Allen Inc. in Montvale, N.J., where he specialized in selling flavor and fragrance chemicals to fortune 500 companies.
In addition to St. John, he ministered at Our Lady of the Angels in Catonsville.
A family obituary said the highlight of his service was providing Communion to St. Mother Teresa of Kolkata during her visit to Baltimore.
Deacon Coster was a member of the National Association of Diaconate Directors, and the Knights of Columbus. He enjoyed music, volunteering in his community as a sports official and coach.
He is survived by his daughter Mary; son John Jr. (Dawn) and two grandchildren, Jack and Sydney; son Mike (Valeria) and granddaughter Luzia.
A memorial Mass will be held May 31 at 11:30 a.m. at St. John followed by an interment service at Meadow Branch Cemetery.
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