The tradition of Eight Bells pays respect to deceased mariners and signifies that a sailor's “watch” is over.

The practice dates back to the days of the sailing ships, when sailors couldn't afford to have their own time pieces and relied on the ship's bells to tell time. The ship's boy kept time by using a half-hour glass. Each time the sand ran out, he would turn the glass over and ring the appropriate number of bells. Each ship “watch” is four hours, or eight bells, in length.

Submissions for Eight Bells

If you learn of the passing of a MMA classmate, associate, friend or family member, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations so that we may include the information in our Eight Bells listings. Send obituaries or their digital links to alumni@mma.edu.

• John B. Alden ’43-2

  Deceased date: June 13, 2024
  John Burnham Alden passed away on June 13, 2024, in Gorham, Maine, at the age of 101, …read more

• Hugh V. Tillman ’87

  Deceased date: June 8, 2024
  Hugh Tillman passed away on June 8, 2024 in Honolulu where he was born almost 60 years earlier. He hoped the shadows on his scans were the pink bubble gum he swallowed as a 6 year old boy. Unfortunately, the big C had taken hold of his pancreas. As a chil…read more

• Michael F. Scala, Jr. ’64

  Deceased date: May 29, 2024
  Sanbornville, NH- Michael F. Scala, Jr, 82, of Sanbornville passed away Wednesday, May 29, 2024 at Wentworth- Douglass Hospital after a brief illness. He was born July 15, 1941 in read more

• Albert E. Anable ’66

  Deceased date: May 3, 2024

  Albert E. Anable, age 80, died on May 3, 2024 at home in Holderness, New Hampshire.

  Born to Jeannette and Albert Annable in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Al grew up in Boothbay, where he lobstered with his father on the Dam…read more

• Edmund N. Watson ’95

  Deceased date: May 1, 2024
  Edmund Norman Watson, 85, was born on January 17, 1939 in Manchester, CT and passed away on May 1, 2024. He attended Ellsworth High School, UConn (where he studied mechanical engineering), and Maine Maritime Academy (where he earned an associate degree …read more

• John W. Adam ’54

  Deceased date: April 24, 2024
  John (Jack) William Adam III passed away peacefully at Ellis Hospital after a short illness surrounded by the love of his family on April 24, 2024. Jack was born on February 22, 1932 to John W. Adam II and Miriam Adam (nee Dean) in Tuxedo, NY. He was pr…read more

• Capt. Roland O. Melcher ’56

  Deceased date: April 24, 2024
  KITTERY – Roland O. Melcher, 90, passed Wednesday, April 24, 2024. He was born Feb. 28, 1934, in Portland, to Frank R. Melcher and Helen M. Smith. He was married for 63 years to his loving wife, Joan Elizabeth Leach, from Methuen, Mass. He is surviv…read more

• William A. Clark ’87

  Deceased date: April 24, 2024
  William Clark, 60, passed away on April 24, 2024 in Ossipee, NH. He attended Portsmouth High School and Maine Maritime Academy. William worked for Merchant Marine's, BOC Gas, and Starboard Trade (his own business).…read more

• Harold C. Morse ’50

  Deceased date: April 23, 2024
  BELFAST — Harold C. Morse, 95, passed away at Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast. Born on January 28, 1928 on the Howard Road in Belmont, he was the second child of Clarence and Viola Morse. His siblings included Clarence Morse, Jr. (deceased), Be…read more

• Frank W. Richardson III ’65

  Deceased date: April 20, 2024
  Frank W. Richardson III, 80, of Beaumont, passed away on Saturday, April 20, 2024. Over the last few years, old age and health issues got the best of him and his heart just gave out. Frank is now in the arms of Jesus, surrounded with love and no longer in…read more