In Memoriam: Andy Mays

Southwest Harbor lobsterman and scalloper Andrew Scott Mays, 53, died on December 28. He is survived by his wife Michelle and three sons.  Mays grew up in Moretown, Vermont, and graduated from Harwood Union High School in 1982. One night after graduation he made a vow that whichever branch of the military was advertised on that evening’s late-night TV, he would enlist in; it was the Coast Guard. Mays served in the Coast Guard from 1983 to 1991 and was stationed in Southwest Harbor from 1985 to 1991.

During that time, Mays learned to scuba dive. After leaving the Coast Guard he set up shop as “Aquaman,” performing commercial dive jobs. He also dove for scallops for more than 25 years. Mays married his wife on February 6, 1998, in Tauranga, New Zealand, after having met her on the Oak Point Road in Trenton in 1995.Mays was very active in civic organizations, in the fishing industry and in town politics. He was a Past Master of the Tremont Masonic Lodge # 77; a member of the Academicians Unit of Anah Shrine; and a member of American Legion Post #69, Southwest Harbor. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and an active member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Manset. Mays served on the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Scallop Advisory Council and volunteered in scallop field research projects. He was a member of the Southwest Harbor Harbor Committee and a shellfish warden for the town.Mays was known for the strength of his opinions and his humor. The latter trait was front and center in 2013, when the Colbert Report aired a sketch about two buckets of scallop gonads that had gone missing on Mount Desert Island. Mays, who was taking part in a scallop research project for the University of Maine, had placed the buckets in the wrong car outside a local restaurant.

The car’s driver drove away, not knowing what lay in the back seat. After Mays and the researcher in whose car the scallop gonads were supposed to be placed realized what had happened, Mount Desert Island and Ellsworth police were alerted. The missing buckets were quickly found. Local newspaper articles about the mix-up got picked up by national news wires, which then drew the attention of the satirical Colbert Report. Mays, who did not have a television, reportedly enjoyed his family’s and friends’ reactions to his self-deprecating comments on the segment.In March, 2016, Mays was awarded the first DMR Award of Excellence by Commissioner Patrick Keliher at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum. Mays had often sparred with Keliher during the years when the department was re-vamping its scallop management program.  “Through his work on DMR advisory councils over the years, Andy has set an exemplary standard of engagement and active participation for industry.

As Commissioner I have come to rely on Andy for his informed, colorfully blunt and straightforward opinions and ideas. His advice and input is always a welcome and valuable contribution to the fisheries management process. There is no one more deserving of this first annual award,” Keliher said at the time. “I’m speechless,” Andy said later. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever been speechless.”Andy’s love of family, country, and the water all came together when he built his boat, F/V Lost Airmen, named for his great-uncle Louis Machovec and his crewmates who lost their lives when their B-17 went down in the North Sea in 1944. Andy worked tirelessly to learn the details of their service and to find and reunite the family members of the lost crew. The mission was completed in October 2017 when the last family was found. Andy delighted in speaking to WWII veterans and encouraging them to tell their stories, sometimes for the first time.Those who wish to can make contributions to the Andy Mays Family Fund, c/o The First, PO Box 86, Southwest Harbor, ME 04609, which will be used for the education and support of his school-aged sons Sylvester, Edmund, and Stanislaus.