KENNETH F. OLSEN ’49
died December 8, 2016 in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. For many years, he worked as a customer service engineer at IBM. Olsen enjoyed spending time with family and friends, as well as participating in golf, tennis, skiing, boating and traveling.
HELLO!!died November 27, 2016 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was employed at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford as Lead Electrical Inspector. He was an avid soccer, football and hockey fan, and enjoyed following his sports teams, Borussia Dortmund, the Eagles and the Flyers. He will also be remembered for working on his classic Volkswagens, none of which ran.
HELLO!!died May 17, 2017 in Topsham, Maine. In addition to MMA, he was also a graduate of Wentworth Institute in Boston and the University of Maine, Orono. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was engineering officer on the USS Eaton DDE 510, which was part of the Sixth Fleet during the Korean War. He was a naval reservist for 20 years, a member of the Military Officers Association of
America, and The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.
He worked for Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts and subsequently, the Hyde Windlass Co., a subsidiary of Bath Iron Works. He was then employed at Holmes Distributors and The House of Lights in Portland, as General Manager, and later as Vice President of the contractor’s division. He retired in 1991.
In lieu of remembrances, the family asks others to consider donations to the MMA Alumni Association.
HELLO!!died April 28 , 2017 in New Haven, Connecticut. He held a B.S. from MMA and a B.S. in accounting from Providence College, class of 1973. He sailed as a deck officer for Gulf Oil, was a CPA with KPMG and involved in several small businesses, including Campion & Co. Known as a spiritual and thoughtful man, he loved the ocean, golf and opera.
HELLO!!died April 19, 2017. After graduation from MMA, he began a career of 42 years with the Lykes Steamship Company. As a first mate with the MSTS during the Vietnam War, he braved enemy fire to carry military cargo to shore. He quickly worked his way to the position of Captain. He later came stateside, serving as Port Captain for Houston and New Orleans, and Manager of Marine Division in New Orleans, and later as Compliance Manager in Tampa. Bowditch’s leadership and merchant expertise, known worldwide, was a guiding force for many organizations.
He was honored to serve as a member of the Council of American Master Mariners, Executive Committee member to VOHMA, on the Board of Governors for the Maritime Security Council, member of the Navigation Safety Advisory Council, and appointed to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Navigation Safety Advisory Council.
He was also a member of Propeller Club of America. As a dedicated volunteer paramedic and firefighter, Bowditch served his communities in Texas and Louisiana, and is credited with saving many lives. The water was his life blood. Bowditch looked forward to regattas, racing his 26’ McGregor on Lake Pontchartrain, Galveston Bay and Tampa Bay. He was Commodore of the Bahia Beach Yacht Club in Ruskin, Florida.
His strength was unmatched, as he remained a fierce competitor into his late 60s, competing in long distance (50-plus mile) kayak races. In 2009, Bowditch retired to the serene lake and woods of Sebago, Maine. The Portland Marine Society welcomed him into the membership of professional seaman where he served as President for two years.
Donations in his memory can be made to the MMA Scholarship Fund, Maine Maritime Academy, 1 Pleasant Street, Castine, ME 04420.
HELLO!!died April 5, 2017. He spent 30 years at sea, the last 20 years as Master. He came ashore in 1997. Thorpe continued his career as a marine surveyor until retirement in 2011.
HELLO!!died April 3, 2017. He joined Pacific Pumps in 1962 as a test engineer and progressed to developing equipment in the refinery field, holding 9 patents on equipment being used worldwide.
HELLO!!died March 31, 2017 in Bainbridge Island, Washington. After serving in the U.S. Navy, the majority of his career was spent with subsidiaries of Union Carbide, including Linde, in Southern California, Domsea Aquaculture, on Bainbridge Island, and London Chemical, in Chicago, Illinois. He retired in 1990 as president of KTI Chemical in Sunnyvale, California and built the Charley
J, his dream commercial tuna fishing boat. Several years of summers fishing were enjoyed in Maine and winters spent on Bainbridge Island.
died March 27, 2017 in Palm City, Florida. After graduation from MMA, he traveled the world as a Merchant Marine. He was last employed as an engineer with South Florida Water Management District. Gallagher loved fishing, golfing, cooking and Boston sports teams.
HELLO!!died March 11, 2017 in Durham, Maine. He served in the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserve. He retired from General Electric where he was a manager in marine propulsion systems. After retirement, he was an owner of TAB Services International, a consulting service. He was on the Board of Trustees and active in the Boy Scouts, and in the Maple Street Church, Danvers, Massachusetts.
Lapham also volunteered at several militaryrelated museums and at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Memorial contributions may be made to Maine Maritime Academy, 1 Pleasant St, Castine, ME 04420.
