Cedric Smith, Glenn Harper, Jake Gilman, Joshua Leonguerrero, Fuli Lemusu, Carlos Zabala and Robert Davis all perished when the Ballard-based fishing vessel Katmai apparently foundered early Wednesday morning in the remote pass about 100 miles west of Adak in the Aleutian Island. Zabala and Davis remain missing. The Katmai sunk in rough seas, and four survived by clinging to a life raft for 17 hours in their survival suits. "They said initially there were seven people in the raft, and then there was a big wave and it got whittled down," said a Coast Guard pilot.
At the time the Katmai ran into trouble, it was returning to Dutch Harbor with a load of cod caught in the Bering Sea west of Adak Island.
The deceased also include Jake Gilman, of Camas, Clark County; Fuli Lemusu, of Salem, Ore;, and Glenn Harper of Portland. Zabala and Davis remain missing.
Glenn's obituary:
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr.
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr. earned his nickname, "Scooter," as an infant because he "scooted backward when he crawled," his mother, Martha Purifoy, recalled Friday.
The 35-year-old Harper was also, Purifoy said, a born fisherman.
"When he was 18 months old, he had a Pocket Fisherman," she said. "His grandmother took him camping, and he just loved to fish."
Harper attended Grant High School and later earned his GED with honors through the nonprofit group Portland YouthBuilders, she said.
When he wasn't fishing, Harper loved to customize cars and had won awards and trophies for his work.
She said this was her son's second year fishing in Alaska; he told her he recently had been promoted. He was recruited by his friend Cedric Smith, also of Portland. Both men died when their fishing boat went down this week in the Bering Sea.
"He was very good-natured and always had funny stories about Alaska," Purifoy said. "When he came back from the first trip, he said, 'It's hard, but I like it.'"
They both knew, however, that it was a dangerous way to make a living.
"I always told him to stay downstairs on the boat, not to go outside," she said.
He also leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter, Saleena, and a large extended family.
"She's doing as well as could be expected," Purifoy said of her granddaughter.
Harper and his fiancee, Glynnis Woods, were hoping for a spring wedding, his mother said.
-- Stuart Tomlinson
At the time the Katmai ran into trouble, it was returning to Dutch Harbor with a load of cod caught in the Bering Sea west of Adak Island.
The deceased also include Jake Gilman, of Camas, Clark County; Fuli Lemusu, of Salem, Ore;, and Glenn Harper of Portland. Zabala and Davis remain missing.
Glenn's obituary:
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr.
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr. earned his nickname, "Scooter," as an infant because he "scooted backward when he crawled," his mother, Martha Purifoy, recalled Friday.
The 35-year-old Harper was also, Purifoy said, a born fisherman.
"When he was 18 months old, he had a Pocket Fisherman," she said. "His grandmother took him camping, and he just loved to fish."
Harper attended Grant High School and later earned his GED with honors through the nonprofit group Portland YouthBuilders, she said.
When he wasn't fishing, Harper loved to customize cars and had won awards and trophies for his work.
She said this was her son's second year fishing in Alaska; he told her he recently had been promoted. He was recruited by his friend Cedric Smith, also of Portland. Both men died when their fishing boat went down this week in the Bering Sea.
"He was very good-natured and always had funny stories about Alaska," Purifoy said. "When he came back from the first trip, he said, 'It's hard, but I like it.'"
They both knew, however, that it was a dangerous way to make a living.
"I always told him to stay downstairs on the boat, not to go outside," she said.
He also leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter, Saleena, and a large extended family.
"She's doing as well as could be expected," Purifoy said of her granddaughter.
Harper and his fiancee, Glynnis Woods, were hoping for a spring wedding, his mother said.
-- Stuart Tomlinson
Cedric Smith, Glenn Harper, Jake Gilman, Joshua Leonguerrero, Fuli Lemusu, Carlos Zabala and Robert Davis all perished when the Ballard-based fishing vessel Katmai apparently foundered early Wednesday morning in the remote pass about 100 miles west of Adak in the Aleutian Island. Zabala and Davis remain missing. The Katmai sunk in rough seas, and four survived by clinging to a life raft for 17 hours in their survival suits. "They said initially there were seven people in the raft, and then there was a big wave and it got whittled down," said a Coast Guard pilot.
At the time the Katmai ran into trouble, it was returning to Dutch Harbor with a load of cod caught in the Bering Sea west of Adak Island.
The deceased also include Jake Gilman, of Camas, Clark County; Fuli Lemusu, of Salem, Ore;, and Glenn Harper of Portland. Zabala and Davis remain missing.
Glenn's obituary:
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr.
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr. earned his nickname, "Scooter," as an infant because he "scooted backward when he crawled," his mother, Martha Purifoy, recalled Friday.
The 35-year-old Harper was also, Purifoy said, a born fisherman.
"When he was 18 months old, he had a Pocket Fisherman," she said. "His grandmother took him camping, and he just loved to fish."
Harper attended Grant High School and later earned his GED with honors through the nonprofit group Portland YouthBuilders, she said.
When he wasn't fishing, Harper loved to customize cars and had won awards and trophies for his work.
She said this was her son's second year fishing in Alaska; he told her he recently had been promoted. He was recruited by his friend Cedric Smith, also of Portland. Both men died when their fishing boat went down this week in the Bering Sea.
"He was very good-natured and always had funny stories about Alaska," Purifoy said. "When he came back from the first trip, he said, 'It's hard, but I like it.'"
They both knew, however, that it was a dangerous way to make a living.
"I always told him to stay downstairs on the boat, not to go outside," she said.
He also leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter, Saleena, and a large extended family.
"She's doing as well as could be expected," Purifoy said of her granddaughter.
Harper and his fiancee, Glynnis Woods, were hoping for a spring wedding, his mother said.
-- Stuart Tomlinson
At the time the Katmai ran into trouble, it was returning to Dutch Harbor with a load of cod caught in the Bering Sea west of Adak Island.
The deceased also include Jake Gilman, of Camas, Clark County; Fuli Lemusu, of Salem, Ore;, and Glenn Harper of Portland. Zabala and Davis remain missing.
Glenn's obituary:
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr.
Glenn Lamont Harper Jr. earned his nickname, "Scooter," as an infant because he "scooted backward when he crawled," his mother, Martha Purifoy, recalled Friday.
The 35-year-old Harper was also, Purifoy said, a born fisherman.
"When he was 18 months old, he had a Pocket Fisherman," she said. "His grandmother took him camping, and he just loved to fish."
Harper attended Grant High School and later earned his GED with honors through the nonprofit group Portland YouthBuilders, she said.
When he wasn't fishing, Harper loved to customize cars and had won awards and trophies for his work.
She said this was her son's second year fishing in Alaska; he told her he recently had been promoted. He was recruited by his friend Cedric Smith, also of Portland. Both men died when their fishing boat went down this week in the Bering Sea.
"He was very good-natured and always had funny stories about Alaska," Purifoy said. "When he came back from the first trip, he said, 'It's hard, but I like it.'"
They both knew, however, that it was a dangerous way to make a living.
"I always told him to stay downstairs on the boat, not to go outside," she said.
He also leaves behind a 14-year-old daughter, Saleena, and a large extended family.
"She's doing as well as could be expected," Purifoy said of her granddaughter.
Harper and his fiancee, Glynnis Woods, were hoping for a spring wedding, his mother said.
-- Stuart Tomlinson
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