BEAUFORT, N.C. – John Costlow, 82, of Beaufort, N.C., died at home on Easter Sunday, April 12, of lung cancer.

He was educated at Western Maryland College and Duke University. He was a professor of zoology at Duke and he directed the Duke Marine Laboratory for two decades.

He loved visiting family in Maine, particularly in the late summer and fall, when he and his wife, Ginny enthusiastically attended LAYSA soccer games and went antiquing to Hallowell and beyond. He loved hearing about his grandchildren’s skiing and theatrical activities.

He had great affection for Trinity Episcopal Church in Lewiston – which seemed to him an incarnation of the early church, with its ministry of prayer, loving community and outreach to the neighborhood. He had a passion for sailing and was an unbeatable croquet and cribbage player.

He had a deep commitment to his local community and to the state of North Carolina, was an early and lifelong environmentalist and made huge strides toward inclusiveness and understanding among global scientific communities. He will be sorely missed.

He is survived by his second wife, Ginny; his daughter, Jane Costlow, her husband, David Das, and their children, Leah and Dinesh; and his daughter, Beth Martin, her husband, Brad and their children, Clara, John and Josiah.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Ann in 1980.