Alexander James “Jim” Krayeske Jr. was born Sept. 12, 1935, to Alexander James “Cappy” Krayeske Sr. and Delia Krayeske (Beaulieu) in Willimantic. He is survived by his brother, William Krayeske of Watertown, his sister, Linda Casella of Middlebury, and his sister-in-law, Mary Lou Battista of Branford. His wife, Betty Ann (Battista) Krayeske, of 60 years, survives him, along with their five children: Mary Krayeske (Bill) of Stamford, Kathleen Crystal of Stratford, Rubi McGrory (Bill) of Savannah, Georgia, Ken Krayeske (Wildaliz) of New Haven, and Holly Jayne (Ryan) of Wallingford. Jim will be missed by his grandchildren: Danielle, Maxwell, Aveline, Marley: and his great-grandson, Julian. Jim also bids farewell to numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and legions of friends and former students.

Jim proudly served in the United States Air Force, where he played football, tennis, and baseball at the Maxwell Air Force Base. After his honorable discharge, he graduated from Central Connecticut State Teachers College and, like his father, went on to become a high school teacher. Coach K, as he was known to his players, started the Watertown High School football program in 1965 and then, in 1969, established the football team at Western Connecticut State University. In the 1970s, he coached football at Wilby High School and Kennedy High School in Waterbury, where he taught for almost 30 years. Coach K lectured nationally about football, and he and his wife, in 1971, began an all-girls sports camp, the Connecticut Girls Sports Camp, that ran for 15 years.

He was happiest spending time with his family, eating ice cream, gardening at his cottage in Guilford, and watching his beloved Washington Redskins and Boston Red Sox. He wishes that we don’t mourn his loss but celebrate his life like the touchdown it was.

Calling hours were on Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 at Hickcox Funeral Home, 195 Main Street, Watertown. A funeral cortege formed on Sept. 5 at the funeral home and proceeded to St. John the Evangelist Church for a Mass. Interment with military honors followed in Mount Olivet Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Yale School of Medicine, 295 Congress Avenue, PO Box 9812, New Haven CT 06519. For additional information or to leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.hickcoxfuneralhome.com.