Maine’s governor has hailed the life of a woman who spent nearly 100 years fishing for lobsters as “amazing” and expressed hopes that her memory inspires “the next century of hardworking” fishers in the state.
The subject of Governor Janet Mills’ tribute, Virginia “Ginny” Oliver, died on 21 January at age 105, according to an obituary published on Monday by her family.
Some regard stories such as that of Oliver, who came to be known as her state’s “Lobster Lady”, as evidence of the growing number of Americans who extend their working days well past the typical retirement age as the cost of living in the US has soared, wages have stagnated and many therefore have been unable to save.
Nonetheless, as recently as 2021, Oliver told the Associated Press she fell in love with trapping lobsters from the moment she started in the business at eight years old, alongside her father and older brother.
“I like doing it – I like being along the water,” she said when discussing her career in the largely male-dominated industry she chose. “And so I’m going to keep on doing it just as long as I can.”
Oliver would get up before dawn and use small fish colloquially known as poagies to lure lobsters from her boat, the Virginia, which was first owned by her late husband. As she established a remarkable 97-year tenure on the waters, and word of it spread, she became the subject of documentaries, major US television networks’ news stories and children’s books, including one titled The Lobster Lady, her obituary recounted.
Mark Hamill, the famed actor, was among those who joined the following that Oliver developed throughout the years. Hamill, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film saga, “celebrated her tenacity on social media”, Oliver’s obituary noted.
The obituary also said that Oliver at one point earned an honorary invitation to join Great Britain’s Cardiff Royal Naval Association. Mills once presented Oliver with a special recognition on her birthday.
“Despite her fame, friends and family said she remained humble and spirited,” Oliver’s obituary added. “Her personal aesthetic delighted her fans – she wore lipstick and earrings every day she went out on the boat, because, as she said, ‘you never know who you are going to see.’”
Lobster evolved from working-class food to a pricey restaurant delicacy over the course of Oliver’s fishing life. Its price per pound swelled from 28 cents when she first started to $6.14 – or 22 times more expensive.
Oliver fished for lobster until a fall at age 103, said a statement from her friend, author and Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh.
Walsh joined Mills in paying tribute to Oliver, saying the late fisher “believed in living, laughing and doing what she loved”.
“She was sassy and spirited, always declaring on land and at sea, ‘I’m the boss,’” Walsh’s tribute statement said. “Sail on, sweet Ginny. May your spirit forever soar above the sea.”
Meanwhile, the Maine Lobster festival, which once designated her the grand marshal of its parade, issued a statement honoring Oliver as “more than a local icon”.
“Virginia was … a living piece of Maine’s maritime history,” the festival’s statement said.
Oliver’s survivors include her children and grandchildren, according to her obituary.
Associated Press contributed reporting