This obitary could be posted in this thread or one from San Fransisco about the maritime activities including tall ships and chanteys. I found this thread first, so I'm posting it here. Chances are some of our Mudcatters either in the Puget Sound or the San Francisco area may have known this fellow. Sounds like he had an interesting life and made a lot of contributions to seafaring research. If someone does have more information or want to turn it into a regular Mudcat obituary then the information can be copied to a new thread. -- SRS
Captain Harold D. Huycke Jr., 84, born November 23, 1922, in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, died February 12, 2007, in Edmonds, Washington.
His family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1930 where Harold graduated from University High School. He attended Occidental College for two years, then graduated from the California Maritime Academy in 1944 and USC in 1947. He went to sea in the Merchant Marine on Liberty and Victory ships in the Pacific during and following WWII.
In 1952 he married Alice Marguerite Frost of Birmingham, Alabama. They returned to the west coast where he worked ashore in San Francisco and Tacoma with Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company. During these years his three children were born.
In 1957, as he often said, "I got the best job I ever had." Capt. Huycke was hired by the State of California to purchase and overhaul the three-masted wooden schooner, C.A. Thayer. He served as bosun on its historic final voyage from Puget Sound to San Francisco where it currently resides as part of the SF Maritime Museum.
The next dozen years were spent in a variety of shore-side and seagoing jobs, alternately working in Seattle, Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America as a cargo superintendent and going to sea as mate and master in the company's ships. Capt. Huycke retired after 18 years as a self-employed marine surveyor, during which time he was hired to survey cargo, big and small ships, commodities, drafts, U.S Navy wooden minesweepers, fishing boats of all sizes, and yachts.
Next to his family, his greatest passion was researching sailing ships, steam schooners, shipbuilding, and the sea-going experiences of the men who sailed on those ships. Over a span of nearly 70 years, he collected oral histories and exchanged thousands of letters with hundreds of former sailors scattered all over the globe. His passion for preserving this segment of maritime history led him to active involvement in maritime museums and historical societies throughout the world. Harold founded the North American section of the international society of Cape Horners. He published one book, To Santa Rosalia, Further and Back and innumerable articles on maritime history. He never turned down a request for information and assisted countless other authors with their research, writing and publishing efforts.
Harold sang for many years with the Seattle SeaChordsmen and the Edmonds United Methodist Church choir. He enjoyed playing the ukulele and singing cowboy songs and composing humorous poems for his family.
Capt. Huycke was preceded in death by his parents, Harold D. Huycke and Mary Isabel Work Huycke; and his brother, David.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Marguerite; children D,avid (Mary) Huycke II, of Yakima, Washington, Arthur (Beth) Huycke, of Seattle, Washington, and Rebecca (Drew) Ellison, of Everett; grandchildren, David, Gregory, Rosalie Ellison and Anna Huycke; and step-grandsons, Tyler and Ben Sellon.
A service celebrating Harold's life will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, February 23, 2007, at Edmonds United Methodist Church, 828 Caspers Street, Edmonds.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Providence Hospice of Snohomish County, 2731 Wetmore Avenue #500, Everett, WA 98201 or The Millionair Club 2515 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121.