Passed on: Stanley Giles
Harbour Round, N.L. fisherman
Giles, 66, passed away tragically at sea near his hometown of Harbour Round, N.L. on July 21, 2026. Stan was born in Harbour Round to Lester and Margaret (Nell) Giles. He started his journey in life under the guidance of his father teaching him to be a fisherman. Later, he joined with his brother to continue to fish the seas of White Bay. Stan and his family’s journey eventually took them to the mainland, where he worked the oil fields to provide for his family. After several years away, they returned home to Newfoundland to be closer to family and friends. Stan was able to rekindle his passion for fishing and the life he loved.
Passed on: Michael Seymour
Harbour Round, N.L. fisherman
Seymour, 66, passed away tragically at sea due to a boating accident on July 21. He loved many things, including fishing, being in the woods, his wonderful little crafts and reading his books at bedtime. Many days he could be found buzzing around on his quad or out in his small rowboat, going trouting, mussel picking or just enjoying the water. He spent many hours in his little shed passing time with his pocketknife and a bit of wood making his crafts that have found a forever home in many places.
Passed on: William Montevecchi
St. John’s, N.L. marine biologist
Montevecchi, 80, passed away on July 11. Bill was born in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1946 to Aldo and Lorraine Montevecchi. He devoted his life to understanding the natural world and helping others understand it too. As a professor at Memorial University for more than four decades, he built one of the world’s most respected seabird research programs, bridging psychology, biology and ocean sciences at a time when such collaborative approaches were still uncommon. Over the course of his career, he mentored countless graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and young researchers, many of whom have become leaders in marine science across Canada and the world. He celebrated their successes and took enormous pride in seeing them flourish. Bill deeply admired the fishermen that supported his work in remote locations — he was humbled by their knowledge, he respected their instincts and he knew that decades spent on the water had taught lessons that no textbook could. Many fishermen became lifelong friends, bound together with the Montevecchi family by a shared love of the ocean and a common desire to protect it. Bill’s work lives on through his ongoing research programs at the university, the protected seabird colonies he led to establishment and in the countless people who now see the ocean with a deeper appreciation.
Passed on: Donald Kielly
Gaskiers-Point La Haye, N.L. fish plant worker
Kielly, 77, passed away on July 11. The son of a fisherman and a devoted mother, Donnie was born and raised in Gaskiers-Point La Haye. It was there that he raised a family and opened a small business with his wife. As a young man he started working in the fishery, with some of his fondest memories and friendships coming from his time working in the fish plant in St. Mary’s and his 17 years working at Woodman’s Sea Products in New Harbour, Trinity Bay.
Passed on: Michael Kieley
Petty Harbour, N.L. fisherman
Kieley, 91, passed away on July 1. Born in Petty Harbour on June 7, 1935, Michael was the third oldest child of a family of 10 children of Elizabeth Williams and Cooper Jack Kieley. He will be missed by his friends and staff at Alderwood Retirement Home in Witless Bay who paid such wonderful attention in caring for him. Both family and friends were amazed when Michael started participating in many of the events and videos at Alderwood and beyond, the skits, the Puffin Patrol as well as leading tours, especially those to Petty Harbour where he would tell his tales of growing up and fishing in the Harbour.
Passed on: Francis Hogan
Neil’s Harbour, N.S. fisherman
Hogan, 87, passed away on July 15. He was a fisherman for most of his life, starting on the water at 12 years of age. He served in the Canadian Army in 1958 for three years before moving back to Nova Scotia to make his living on the water. Following his retirement from commercial fishing, he would keep daily watch over the boats, ensuring everyone made it safely back to port.
Passed on: John MacDonald
Port Hood, N.S. fisherman
MacDonald, 81, passed away on July 15. Born on August 14, 1944, in Lyndhurst, England, during the Second World War, John began his remarkable journey in life under extraordinary circumstances. In 1946, he and his mother crossed the Atlantic aboard the Queen Mary to meet his father’s family and begin a new life in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, where he would eventually make his home in Harbourview, Port Hood, a community he loved deeply. John began lobster fishing in the 1960s, a career that eventually became not just his livelihood but his life’s passion. He was happiest on the water and was well known throughout Port Hood and the surrounding communities for delivering fresh mackerel and haddock to friends and neighbors.
Passed on: Ronald Roy
Liverpool, N.S. fish plant worker
Roy, 81, passed away on July 1. Born in Liverpool, he was the second of five boys to Lincoln and Margaret (McCoombs) Roy. Ronnie was a quiet man who never shied away from hard work. His job at 19 years old started each day by walking from the train station in Brooklyn to Cameron’s Corner just to catch his drive to Port Mouton and then ended his day doing that journey in reverse. He worked at Mersey Seafoods as a foreman for 47 years and continued making gear for the scallop boats until only a year and a half ago.
Passed on: David Fisher
Malignant Cove, N.S. coast guard employee
Fisher, 69, passed away on July 17. David was raised in Pleasant Valley and Malignant Cove. He began his work life in the woods, but he worked hard putting himself through upgrade school to join the Coast Guard, which was a job he was extremely proud of.
Passed on: Joseph Sampson
Herring Cove, N.S. machinist
Sampson, 69, passed away on July 10. Born on December 31, 1956, he was a man known for his strong work ethic, generous spirit and deep love of sport fishing, hunting, golfing, baseball, comics, movies and music. In 1978, he began a 44-year career as a machinist at the Halifax Dockyard and retired in April 2022, leaving behind a legacy of dedication and lifelong friendships.
Passed on: John Perry
Boudreauville, N.S. fisherman
Perry, 87, passed away on June 30. Born in Benoit’s Cove, Newfoundland, to the late Mary (Youden) and John Perry, he was one of seven children. From an early age, he developed a deep love for the ocean and for fishing, a passion that would shape much of his life. Like so many Newfoundland songs, his life was defined by the sea, his family and the places he always called home. Although Newfoundland’s rugged coastline forever remained home in his heart, the decline of the groundfish industry led John, like many Newfoundlanders in the early 1960s, to Petit-de-Grat. Recruited by Booth Fisheries, he worked aboard many draggers, including the Red Diamond fleet, sailing out of Petit-de-Grat harbour. Throughout his fishing career, he worked aboard several draggers, including the Jean Fletcher, Ellen Fletcher and for many years, the Patricia Linder. His love of the sea even took him as far as Greenland in 1991, where he fished for shrimp aboard the Kinguk out of Mulgrave. After leaving the fishing industry, he worked at Breton Marine in Port Hawkesbury, spent time with the Construction Union as a steel tier and later retired from Atlantic Towing.
Passed on: Robert MacKay
Central Caribou, N.S. fisheries observer
MacKay, 62, passed away on June 30. Born on April 14, 1964, in Pictou N.S., this is where he grew up and was always a part of the fishing community and worked in the fishing industry. He was an offshore fishing observer and a master diver.
Passed on: Ernest Thorburne
Shelburne, N.S. fisherman
Thorburne, 87, passed away on July 13. From a young age, he understood what it meant to put family first. Faced with the responsibility of helping support those he loved, he left school and went to sea. Fishing wasn’t just his livelihood — it was his way of making sure his family had everything they needed. It was hard work, long days and countless hours away from home, but he never complained. He simply did what needed to be done. Those years shaped him into the hardworking, humble and selfless man that so many people came to know and love.
Passed on: Ronald Chetwynd
Baccaro, N.S. fisherman
Chetwynd, 76, passed away on July 12. Born on November 15, 1949, in Baccaro, Nova Scotia, Ronald was the son of the late Eldridge “Ellie” and Doris (Christie) Chetwynd. The sea was Ronald’s lifelong calling. As a young man, he began fishing throughout the Maritimes, spending nearly his entire working life on the water. He started as a crew member, worked his way up to owning his own boat and captained many vessels over the years. While he enjoyed all aspects of the fishery, swordfishing held a special place in his heart. In his later years, he turned to lobster fishing and treasured being able to return home each night after decades of spending weeks and months away at sea.
Passed on: Douglas Wilson
Yarmouth, N.S. marine draftsman
Wilson, 77, passed away on July 9. Doug led a productive and interesting life. He was born in Vulcan, Alberta and raised on the family farm in Kirkcaldy, Alberta, until the family moved to Belleville, Ontario. His formal education was at Queen’s University where he earned a degree in Engineering Physics. He attended the University of Hawaii earning a M.S. in Ocean Engineering. Doug lived and worked both in Canada and Internationally. In addition to being an accomplished draftsman for fishing vessels, his career ventures and intellectual pursuits were rich and varied. They included aquaculture, geotechnical engineering, green cones, mariculture and marine resource development.
Passed on: Gordon Newell
Newellton, N.S. fisherman
Newell, passed away on July 6. Gordon started fishing and lobstering at the age of 14 and stopped at the age of 70. He loved the water, camping and hunting and in his younger years, hunting with his grandsons Mark and Randy.
Passed on: Robert Scott
Shelburne, N.S. electrician
Scott, 58, passed away on July 4. Born on January 10, 1968 at Roseway Hospital in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Robert was the cherished son of Robert Douglas Scott Sr. and Rosalie Glenna (Enslow) Scott. In his younger years, he worked at National Sea and graduated from Lockeport Regional High School in 1986. He later attended the Nova Scotia Institute of Technology in Halifax where he took up electrical and then began working in Cape Island for Allan Brannen Electrical for many years. In 2002, he started at Clearwater (Pierce Fisheries) in Lockeport as a maintenance electrician and in just the last few years before his illness he became the maintenance manager.
Passed on: Herbert Brannen
Baccaro, N.S. fisherman
Brannen, 67, passed away on July 1. Born and raised in Baccaro, Wayne spent his entire life in the community he loved. A dedicated fisherman and hardworking labourer in the lobster industry, he was known for his strong work ethic, quiet determination and positive outlook on life. No matter the challenges he faced, Wayne was never one to complain.
Passed on: Bernie Doucet
Cape St. Mary, N.S. fisherman
Doucet, 78, passed away on July 9. Bernie was born, raised and spent most of his life in Cape St. Mary, where he worked as a fisherman. He enjoyed a variety of hobbies, including farming, fishing, gardening and carpentry. Bernie loved telling stories about his days on the sea and his hunting adventures.
Passed on: Grant MacLeod
Dartmouth, N.S. hydrographer
MacLeod, 94, passed away on July 18. Grant graduated from Hillcrest High School in Ottawa in 1969. Creative and artistic by nature, he brought a sharp eye and meticulous precision to his study of cartography at Algonquin College. In 1971, he joined the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources as a cartographer with the Canadian Hydrographic Service. He later relocated with fellow colleagues to Nova Scotia’s Bedford Institute of Oceanography in 1978. He was promoted to hydrographer in the mid-1990s and became Head of his Chart Production unit. Colleagues deeply respected his expertise and frequently sought his guidance. He often talked fondly of surveying trips at sea, especially of a summer he spent in the early 1980s mapping the ocean floor in Ungava Bay, Québec. He retired in 2006 after 35 years of dedicated service.
