Ralph E. Cogswell
1926 – 2016
COGSWELL, Ralph E., 89, Atlantic Beach, FL, July 5, 2016. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, at St. Joseph’s Maronite Catholic Church, Waterville. A graveside committal service will be held at 2 p.m., Fri., Aug. 5, in St. Denis Catholic Cemetery, Fort Fairfield.
ATLANTIC BEACH, FL – Ralph E. Cogswell, 89, died peacefully in his sleep at Fleet Landing, Atlantic Beach, FL, on July 5, 2016. 
The Retirement Community of Fleet Landing had been his home since 2010. Prior to that, he resided in Winslow, ME. Ralph was born in Fort Fairfield, October 9, 1926, the son of Elwood and Hazel Cogswell. He was a graduate of Fort Fairfield High School. Shortly after graduation, he began military service in the U.S. Army Infantry during the final months of World War II. He was discharged in December 1946.
In April 1947, Ralph enlisted in the Maine Army National Guard and in 1952, was commissioned as an officer at the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He served in both the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve as a Battery Commander, Operations and Training Officer, Senior Artillery Instructor and Engineer Officer. He retired from the Army Reserve in 1974 with the rank of Major, after 28 years of active and reserve service.
His Federal Civil Service career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began in 1947 in Limestone, where he was involved with the construction of Loring Air Force Base. His career with the Army Corps included assignments in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Texas, and Washington, D.C. While in Texas, he was involved in the construction of the Houston Space Center, from beginning until its completion in 1966. Thereafter, he moved to Washington where he spent 11 years at the Chief of Engineers office, lastly as the Head of Military Construction Training. Ralph finished his Civil Service career with the Department of Energy in Piketon, OH, retiring as a GS-15.
Ralph was married to Phyllis K. (Ayoob) Cogswell for 61 wonderful years, before her death in May 2009. He was a loving and generous father to his three children, was strong in his faith, and in return was loved and admired by all who knew him. Ralph had an excellent voice and a lifelong love for music and song that he shared unselfishly for the enjoyment of everyone until his final days. The residents and staff of Fleet Landing will surely miss his spontaneous singing of Christian hymns.
Ralph is survived by two sons and their wives, Peter and Lillie Cogswell of Wimberley, TX, and Michael and Cynthia Cogswell of Gettysburg, PA; a daughter, Binette Schuyler of Lucasville, OH; two sisters, Vesta Thompson of Fort Fairfield, and Carolyn Atkins of Tidewater, VA; seven grandchildren: Kathryn, Sara, Maggie, Suzanne, Benjamin, Seth and Scott; two great-grandsons, Nadav and John Joseph; along with many other close and loving relatives and special friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday, August 4, 2016, at St. Joseph’s Maronite Catholic Church, 3 Appleton Street, Waterville, with Father Larry Jensen officiating. A graveside committal service will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, August 5, 2016, in St. Denis Catholic Cemetery, Fort Fairfield, with Father Jean Paul Labrie officiating. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to help fund a memorial bench in the Central Maine Veterans Memorial Park in Winslow, ME. Checks can be sent to “CM Veterans Memorial Park”, c/o Winslow Supply, 567 Benton Ave., Winslow, ME 04901. Reference the Ralph E. Cogswell Memorial.
