The Twine Loft – December 2022

Passed On: Ronald Newell — Clark’s Harbour, N.S. fisherman and mariner

Newell, 87, passed away in Yarmouth on October 6. He was a fisherman in his early years and in 1966 he became the first coxswain of the first lifeboat 101 at Clark’s Harbour where he remained until he retired in 1995 due to leukemia.

Passed On: Russell Enslow — West Green Harbour, N.S. fisherman and fish plant worker

Enslow, 87, passed away on October 7. He was born in West Green Harbour on October 28, 1934. He spent his life at National Sea cutting fish, doing maintenance and retired as a chief engineer and finished his working life as a lobster fisherman.

Passed On: Rendell Drover — Upper Island Cove, N.L. fisherman

Drover, 74, passed away on October 7. He was born on July 30, 1948. He was a well-known and respected fishermen in his community.

Passed On: Rose Saulnier — Wedgeport, N.S. fish plant worker

Saulnier, 86, passed away on October 22. She was born in Wedgeport on April 6, 1936. In her younger years, she worked primarily in fish plants.

Passed On: Gilles Pothier — Wedgeport, N.S. fisherman

Pothier, 76, passed away on October 13. He was born on January 26, 1946 in Yarmouth. He was a hard-working fisherman, starting his fishing career in his early teenage years and spending countless hours at sea. He was often heard recounting fishing stories from the past and frequently went for drives to the wharf.

Passed On: Thomas Deveau — Yarmouth, N.S. fisherman

Deveau, 69, passed away on October 17. He was born on August 4, 1953. He was a retired lobster fisherman, having fished all of his adult life.

Passed On: Rita Vacon — Yarmouth, N.S. fish plant worker

Vacon, 88, passed away on October 8. She was born in Yarmouth on August 13, 1934. She was very proud of her work as a supervisor on the processing floor at Kennebec, one of the fish plants in Yarmouth.

Passed On: Murray Thorburne — Charleston, N.S. fish plant worker

Thorburne, 86, passed away on August 28. He was born in Liverpool, N.S. He worked at Nickerson Brothers Fisheries in Port Mouton. After he left there, he went to work at C.W. MacLeod’s Fisheries where he became foreman, a position he held for over 30 years.

Passed On: Marie Harris — Plateau, N.S. fish plant worker

Harris, 90, passed away on October 15. She worked at the area fish plant for 26 years.

Passed On: Eugene Comeau — Saint Alphonse de Clare, N.S. fisherman

Comeau, 66, passed away on October 10. He was born on December 1, 1955. He was a jack-of-all-trades and worked most of his life as a commercial fisherman and logger.

Passed On: Malcolm Campbell Sr. — St. Anthony, N.L. lighthouse keeper

Campbell, 88, passed away on September 11. He was born at Cape Norman on October 17, 1933. He was one of eight children in a long line of lighthouse keepers and began his lighthouse keeper career in 1952 at the age of 18 and held station in Cape Norman, Gull Island and his beloved Camp Islands. In total, working happily for 44 years.

Passed On: Patrick Lewis — Conception Harbour, N.L.

Lewis, 76, passed away on October 22. Growing up, he learned his trade early by following in his father’s footsteps as both a fisherman and an ironworker with Local 764. He was in his element fishing on his boat the Royal Navigator with his best friend and son Darrell. Since retirement, he continued his craft by making nets and pots in his fishing loft and being part of an industry that he loved so much.

Passed On: Cora Verge — Broad River, N.S. fish plant worker

Verge, 72, passed away on October 20. Born in Halifax, she worked at fish plants and helped to build the West Queens Recreational Centre.

Passed On: Vernon Aker — Lahave Islands, N.S. fisherman

Aker, 82, passed away on October 19. He was born on Lahave Islands. He was a fisherman all his life. He loved the job and watched many a sunrise on the ocean before retirement.

Passed On: Michael Rhodenizer — Dayspring, N.S. fisherman

Rhodenizer passed away on October 4, 2022. He was a scallop fisherman until his retirement in 2004.

Awarded: Maxwell Short — N.L. fisheries advocate

Short was invested into the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador on October 4, 2022. He has spent over 60 years advocating for fishing families in Newfoundland and Labrador. In doing this, Short has been a member of the Northern Cod Commission, the Canadian delegation to the North Atlantic Salmon Commission (NASCO), the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), and the Canada/France Advisory Commission. He was also a Canadian Commissioner to the Canada/Norway Sealing Commission. Short was also a special adviser to the Ministers of Fisheries and Oceans for almost a decade.

Appointed: Thom Duncan — Ocean Choice International (OCI) Director of Sales for the United States

OCI recently announced that Thom Duncan has joined Ocean Choice in the new role of Director of Sales for the United States. Working alongside Ocean Choice’s existing North American sales team and reporting to Chris Curran, VP Sales and Marketing — North America, who is based at Ocean Choice’s head office in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, Duncan will apply his knowledge and expertise to grow Ocean Choice’s presence throughout the United States. His sales office is based in Georgia.

Appointed: Wayne Follett — One Ocean, chairperson

Follett was appointed the newest chairperson of One Ocean, inter-industry liaison organization for the fishing and petroleum industries in Newfoundland and Labrador. Follett previously worked as president and CEO of Marine Atlantic Inc. and as the regional director general of the Newfoundland and Labrador Region of Fisheries and Oceans Canada as well as the Canadian Coast Guard.

Appointed: Ashley Woodford — One Ocean, managing director

Previous to Woodford’s appointment as managing director, she worked for 17 years with professional associations in Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador. Woodford has extensive experience in association management, working with volunteer boards and building relationships with stakeholders. She previously served as the executive director of the N.L. branch of the Canadian Bar Association for 12 years.