Memorial honors seafarers

Brick by brick, Mariners Memorial Foundation becomes a reality

The idea for a 400-square-foot came to friends and family of Captain Joseph X. "Jay" O'Brien. What started out as an ordinary fishing trip was cut short by rough seas. O'Brien's boat, White Water, capsized taking Jay and leaving behind hundreds of mourning friends and family.

His death prompted a group of friends and other sports fishermen to plan a memorial in his honor. A group of volutneers, led by chariman Steve Mey, initially palnned to place a granite bench in O'Briens memory on the Cliff Walk. As the group grew, so did the project.

Initially named the Fishermen's Memorial Association evolved to become the Mariner's Memorial Foundation. With the support of Sen. Claiborne Pell, former Secretary of State Kathleen Connell and DEM officials, the bench for O'Brien has evolved into a memorial to all who have lived, loved or died by the sea.