Posted on 01/27/2026 12:43:39 PM PST by Morgana
Maine's legendary lobster lady has died at the age of 105 after spending years trapping the seafood with her son and becoming the state's first woman lobsterman.
Virginia Oliver died on January 21 at a hospital near her Rockland, Maine home, according to the Boston Globe.
'She was a hard worker and a good mother,' her son, Max Oliver, told the outlet.
For years, she and Max would go lobstering three times a week on her late husband's boat named after her.
Her days would start at 3am, and she would meet her son to go out and check their hundreds of lobster traps.
Virginia, who was the oldest licensed trapper in Maine, was in charge of measuring the lobsters and discarding the ones that were too small. She also captained their boat, filled bait bags, and gave her son 'hell once in a while,' he told the outlet.
'She’s the boss,' he said in 2021.
Virginia had been lobstering since she was eight years old, when she would go out with her father. But she had to give up the career at the age of 103 after health condition forced her to stay ashore.
'It’s not hard work for me. It might be for somebody else, but not me,' she told The Globe when she was 101.
Her legendary career served as inspiration for a documentary and several books in recent years.
Although the elderly woman often downplayed the longevity of her work, her son insisted that she enjoyed the recognition.
She would receive mail from fans and, including from overseas.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
See, folks don’t last long after they retire. If she had kept working after 103, she might still be alive. Sure, health issues might have forced her to stay on shore, but there are plenty of seafood related jobs on land.
What a wonderful way to be remembered.
Very much like my own Mom in many ways. I never did see Momma a single morning not wearing her signature starched pin point collar blouse ready to face the day head on with her to do list in hand and filled with unwavering determination.
Inspirational! RIP.
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