He rose from rookie to captain, served 53 years in Ocean City; was a longtime teacher in Upper Township
Editor’s note: A celebration of life for former OCBP captain Ollie Muzslay will be noon to 3 p.m. Friday at The Flanders in Ocean City.
OCEAN CITY — Oliver Martin “Ollie” Muzslay, 83, who rose from rookie to captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol and spent more than a half-century guarding the beaches of the resort, died Friday, Oct. 4, 2024.
Muzslay, a longtime physical education teacher in the Upper Township School District, was captain of the OCBP when it celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1998.
He was born June 10, 1941, and grew up in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, but he spent every summer in Ocean City with his siblings at his grandmother’s house.
A 1959 graduate of Frankford High School in Philadelphia, he spent his first summer on the OCBP in 1957 while still in high school.
He was promoted to lieutenant in 1962 and became captain in 1983. His final year on the beach patrol was 2000.
All three of his sons — Lance, Drew and Heath — joined the OCBP.
“Myself and my two older brothers were all on the patrol together,” Heath Muzslay said. “It was great going to work and seeing him as a leader there. We all looked up to him and had a lot of friends who were on the patrol and a lot of them looked up to him … as someone they respected.”
Becoming lifeguards was almost preordained for Heath and his older brothers.
“We were going to lifeguard races ever since I could remember and being part of the beach patrol ever since I could remember. It was never really a question, it was just a matter of how old I would have to be.”
Asked what drew his father to the beach patrol, Heath Muzslay mentioned the time spending summers as a kid in the resort. As for what kept him there?
“He loved the camaraderie of all the people on the patrol. We’re talking 100, 120 men and women every summer. He just loved the people that he worked with and served with and served for. That was the biggest part of it, the people.”
His son said his father “would typically work seven days a week from April until October. He would work as a teacher until mid-June and go back in September, but there is a lot of stuff to prepare for before and after the season.”
He explained that didn’t mean working start to finish every day, but his father would be involved in one way or another even away from the beach and was always carrying his radio.
Muzslay earned a bachelor of science degree in education in 1966 from Temple University and that same year was hired as Upper Township’s first physical education teacher. He was the Upper Township Teacher of the Year in 2000 and retired from the district in 2004.
He started the soccer program in Upper Township in the late 1970s, coached in the township with the boys and girls soccer teams, girls basketball and coed volleyball over the years. Muzslay also helped start the crew program at Ocean City High School.
In his down time he liked golf, pickleball and playing poker.
“He loved teaching. He loved people. At the end of the day, whether it was teaching or the beach patrol, he loved meeting new people. He would talk to anybody at any time. … If you looked like you wanted to talk to him, he would want to talk to you. That was his personality.”
In addition to his sons, he is survived by his wife, Erica (Ricci) Muzslay and three grandchildren. A celebration of life will be noon to 3 p.m. Friday at The Flanders in Ocean City.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff