Kenneth Coale, a beloved professor who once directed the San José State University-affiliated Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, died on July 11 at the age of 67 of a sudden aortic tear, according to an announcement from the facility.
Coale was born on January 24, 1955, in New York City, though he grew up in the mountainous Portola Valley, California. His mother was an educator and his father, an engineer, sparked his love of science and spending time outdoors from an early age, according to an obituary from the family, with camping and rock climbing among their favorite group activities.
He began his undergraduate studies at the nearby University of California (UC), Santa Cruz, in 1974, where he studied biology and met his future wife, Susan, in an organic chemistry class. He stayed at the university to work after graduation, becoming immersed in research on the radionuclides and trace metals of ...
