The ‘lobster lady’ of Maine — who worked the seas for nearly a century — has died at 105

Virginia “Ginny” Oliver, who trapped lobsters off the coast of Maine for almost a century, has died at the age of 105.

Known as “the lobster lady,” Oliver spent the ages of eight to 103 catching crustaceans while rocking lipstick shades almost as bright as her smile, and earrings that sparkled nearly as much as her personality.

Her friend Barbara Walsh, who wrote a children’s book about Oliver, says she was known for her unwavering optimism, infectious laugh, dedication to the job, and refusal to “put up with any guff from anybody.”

“Ginny was a spark,” Walsh, author of 2022’s The Lobster Lady: Maine’s 102-Year-Old Legend, told As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. 

“She taught us all that there’s no reason to stop doing what you love, no matter how old you are.”

‘Because I want to’

Born in Rockland, Maine, in 1920, Oliver started trapping lobsters when she was eight years old, working alongside her father and older brother.

She fell in love with the work, and spent the next nine decades tending the traps, later working with her husband, Bill, and their son, Max.

“I like doing it. I like being along the water,” she told The Associated Press in 2021. “And so I’m going to keep on doing it just as long as I can.”

When Walsh first saw Oliver on a local Maine television program, she says she “just fell in love immediately.”

“I just immediately the next day called her up and said, ‘I want to do a children’s book on you.’ And she said, ‘Oh sure, come on up!’” Walsh said. “And, you know, she was just delightful.”

When the book was done, the pair remained friends. 

“I just started stopping by whenever I could to see her because I loved being with her and hearing her laughter,” she said.

Over the course of Oliver’s storied career at sea, the lobster industry evolved dramatically. What was once a working-class food became a high-end delicacy.

But there were elements of the work that changed very little. Every morning, she would rise before dawn, apply her lipstick, a pair of earrings and her fishing waders, and head to sea in her boat, The Virginia, once owned by her late husband. 

“It’s a difficult job at times, you know. You’re dealing with the weather, the cold and storms that can come suddenly,” Walsh said. “None of that phased Ginny.”

In all her years, Oliver was never bitten by a lobster, Walsh said. But at the age of 100, she was bitten by a crab and required seven stitches on her hand.

“The doctor scolded her, like, you know, ‘What are you doing out there lobstering at the age of 100?’” Walsh said. “And Ginny fired right back at him and just said, ‘Because I want to!”

‘No-nonsense work ethic’ 

Oliver, who was often featured on news programs and documentaries, always said she intended to keep lobstering until she died. 

However, at the age of 103, she fell and hurt herself. After that, she had to use a walker and could no longer go on the boat.

“When that fall prevented her from getting back out, she still dreamed of going back out there,” Walsh said. “But, sadly, she never made it.”

Late last year, Oliver contracted COVID-19, and then pneumonia, the latter of which took her life on Jan. 21.

“Despite her fame, friends and family said she remained humble and spirited,” her obituary reads. “Oliver is survived by her children and grandchildren, many of whom continued the family’s lobstering tradition.”

The Maine Lobster Festival, for which Oliver served as grand parade marshal in 2020, posted a memorial on its website, noting that she started fishing “long before GPS and fiberglass hulls, before women were welcomed in the industry, and decades before the world came to know her name.”

“Her no-nonsense work ethic, sparkling blue eyes and enduring sense of purpose reminded us all of what it means to live with passion and pride, to keep showing up, decade after decade, for the work that defines you,” it reads.

“Virginia was more than a local icon; she was a living piece of Maine’s maritime history.”

Maine Gov. Janet Mills also posted Oliver’s legacy on  Facebook.

“May Ginny’s extraordinary life inspire the next century of hardworking Maine fishermen,” she wrote.