Stuart Sherburne

Mon, 02/13/2023 - 11:00am

Stuart Sherburne passed away at the Sussman House in Rockport on Jan. 24, 2023.

He was born on Nov. 8, 1930 in Concord, New Hampshire to Ronald and Harriet Bancroft Sherburne.

He grew up in Salem, New Hampshire, attended local schools and graduated from Woodbury High School. He was a Boy Scout and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He furthered his education graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1952.

Stuart lobstered in Rye, New Hampshire for a while, and then trained to be a medical technologist. After Army service, he worked in the Veterans Hospital in White River Junction, Vermont. Being in the mountains was too far from the ocean so he applied to work in Gloucester, Massachusetts on testing fishing gear. In 1964 he transferred from Vermont to National Marine Fisheries Service in West Boothbay Harbor doing blood work on fish and lobsters, also being on the ocean in research vessels on Georges Banks and a memorable trip on a Russian Fisheries research vessel, from which he had many stories of the life on board. After the NMFS lab moved to Woods Hole, Massachusetts he worked as a pathologist for the State of Maine DMR lab at the same site until he retired.

Stuart was always happy to be on a boat. It didn’t matter if it was a canoe, skiff, lobster boat or bigger. He spent many happy hours paddling in his canoe in the marsh behind the house or lobstering from his skiff in Linekin Bay. He also loved to feed the birds and noted on his calendar each year when the marsh ice went out and the redwings first arrived.

Stuart met Frances Fairley at the NMFS lab and in 1965 they were married and lived in East Boothbay. Stuart was a founding member of the Boothbay Ambulance service and volunteered for a number of years. He was also a member of the Boothbay Fire Department for many years. He enjoyed the monthly supper meeting in East Boothbay and later Boothbay.

Stuart was predeceased by his parents and his brother Kenneth Earl Sherburne of New Hampshire and his mother-in-law Mary Alice Fairley of East Boothbay.

He is survived by his wife, Frances and sons William (Bill) Sherburne and Scott Sherburne both of Boothbay. Two grandchildren: Noah of Hudson, Massachusetts and Lennon of Washington, D.C.

There will be no service at this time. Donations in his memory can be made to the Boothbay Fire Dept. or the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service.

Arrangements are entrusted to Hall Funeral Home, 975 Wiscasset Road, Boothbay. To extend online condolences, please visit Stuart’s Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com