Albert S. Hester

Albert S. Hester, 88, a retired science and technology editor from Ormond Beach, Fla., died on Jan. 13.

Born in Lynchburg, Va., Hester began studying chemistry in 1940 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in Blacksburg before he left to serve in the Army during World War II. As a member of the 87th Infantry Division of the 912th Field Artillery Battalion, he fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium.

After receiving a B.S. degree in general science from Virginia Tech, he worked in London as the European correspondent for Chemical & Engineering News in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Returning to the U.S., he joined American Cyanamid in Wayne, N.J., remaining there for at least 20 years. During this time, he earned an M.B.A. in finance in 1974 from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J. Subsequently, he served as editor of a genetic technology engineering newsletter in New York City for Technical Insights, which was later acquired by John Wiley & Sons, until his retirement in 2009. Hester was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1947.

A voracious reader, Hester had a keen interest in Egyptology, which led him to study hieroglyphics.

Hester is survived by his wife, Angela, whom he married in 1958; son, Richard; daughter, Susan Pendleton; and two grandchildren.