Victor K. "Vic" Oesterling Jr., 83, passed peacefully from this life to the next Sunday at the Douglas Jacobson Veterans Nursing State Home, Port Charlotte, Fla.

He was born Sept. 24, 1925, the son of Victor and Marjorie Oesterling in Butler.

Vic was the beloved husband of Mary Oesterling for 62 years.

He graduated from Butler High School. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II as pharmacist's mate on the U.S.S. Dade.

Vic earned a bachelor's in pharmaceutical sciences and a master of science degrees in pharmacy from Ohio State University and was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from OSU.

He practiced retail pharmacy in Ohio and Wisconsin before joining the Christian Medical College and Hospital in Vellore, South India, as chief of pharmacy in 1964, a post he held until 1973.

Vic was a founding member of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry and was considered by many as the father of modern hospital pharmacy in India.

He and Mary founded Pharmacy Relief Services and operated the Edison Prescription Shoppe in Fort Myers, Fla., until retirement.

They cruised the Caribbean in their trawler, the Rx, for four years and were very active in the Power Squadron community. They spent eight years in the "Round House" in West Virginia, hosting countless gatherings of family and friends. Vic continued to practice pharmacy in West Virginia as a relief pharmacist. His final retirement home was Alligator Park, Punta Gorda, Fla., where he was well-known for feeding birds and all manner of human and animal life.

Vic is survived by his wife, Mary; two daughters, Wendy of Winchester, Va., and Becky of Orlando, Fla.; one son, Victor K. Oesterling III of London, U.K.; five grandchildren; three great-children; three brothers; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

<B>OESTERLING</B> — A memorial service for Victor K. "Vic" Oesterling Jr., who died Sunday, May 31, 2009, was held at 3 p.m. today at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2565 Tamiami Trail, Port Charlotte.Donations may be made in Vic's memory to Tidewell Hospice or the Douglas Jacobson State Veterans Home.Arrangements are by <B>ICS Crematory</B>, Port Charlotte.