The Heraldnet
Everett, Washington
February 18, 2007
Captain Harold D. Huycke Jr.
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 David
(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.
Published in The Herald (Everett) on
February 18, 2007
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