LEWISTON — Master Chief Torpedoman’s Mate, Claire V. Chesley Jr., USN, Ret., 89, died unexpectedly Aug. 12, at CMMC.

He was born in Lewiston on July 20, 1922, the son of Clair V. Chesley Sr. and Maryella Rendall Chesley. During the early years of his life, the family lived in Hanover, N.H., where he began school. After moving back to Auburn, he attended Auburn schools and graduated from Edward Little High School in 1940. In high school, he was president of the senior class, was a state champion speed skater, and won the Junior Silver Skate Derby in Boston Garden. He also became an Eagle Scout in Troop 137. Years later he served as Scout Master of Troop 109 in Durham. He attended virtually all of his Edward Little class reunions. In addition, he was a lifetime member of the Poland Spring Historical Society, served for many years as the president of the Harmony Grove Cemetery Association in Durham, and attended the First Universalist Church in Auburn.

Soon after Pearl Harbor, he joined the U.S. Navy. He served on a variety of ships during World War II and during the Korean War, where he earned a Bronze Star. In 1944 he married Barbara E. Cox from Durham. They returned to live in Durham in 1957. The Brunswick Naval Air Station was his last assignment, retiring in 1972 after 30 years of service. He always loved the water and in later years could often be seen on Tripp Lake in his rowboat following several of his hand-built model sailboats.

After the Navy, he embarked on a second career, supervising the State Probation and Parole Department for Androscoggin County, influencing many lives for the better, until his second retirement in 1995. During this period he earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice, with highest distinction, from the University of Maine in Augusta. After his second retirement he worked for several years for Emerson Toyota in Auburn.

He is survived by his wife of ten years, whom he met upon return to Auburn and entering the fourth grade, Marion Emery; his sister, Helen McGuire of Lewiston; his five sons, Clair III, Andrew, Christopher, Duncan, and James; his stepdaughter, Betsy-Jo Whitcomb; 12 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

He was predeceased by Babara E. Cox, who died in 1999.