Richard D. “Dick” Hathaway, 90, died on June 25, 2017, at his home in Edgartown. He was the husband of Janice (Holbrook) Hathaway.
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Dick spent his childhood in Bangor, Maine; Cambridge; and of course in Edgartown. He entered World War II at the age of 15, and parachuted behind enemy lines in the Netherlands with the 101st Airborne Division. He went on to the Battle of the Bulge and other large and small battles.
He was saddened when he saw the condition of a liberated Nazi camp, where people had been starved, mistreated, and indeed murdered during the war. He spoke more about that than about his tough road to Germany. Later he signed up for more time in postwar Germany.
He went to work for Grant Brothers in Edgartown upon returning home, and enjoyed his interesting employers and the hard work they provided.
He loved fishing, and teaching young people to enjoy the sport and to have respect for the fish as well. I remember him saying (about bait), ‘Wouldn’t you like that if you were a fish?’ He won his seventh and final first place in the M.V. Bass and Bluefish Derby at the age of 70.
Over the years he was the proprietor of the Gremlin Frog, Hathaway’s Taxi (‘Get Away with Hathaway”) and Dick’s Deli in Edgartown. At one time he owned a fishing vessel, and was also clamming, quahogging, crabbing, conching, and oystering. He scalloped for many years, including the year he turned 89. He loved the ocean and all that it held.
His grandchildren and great-grandchildren had an awesome grandpa to love. At one point his grandson Brendan said he was going to skip college and go fishing with Grandpa Dick. The family all miss him.
He leaves behind his wife Janice; his nephews William Wannamaker, Hayden Wannamaker, and Kent Wannamaker; and his niece Martha Wannamaker. Willie lived with Uncle Dick and his first wife Jean Hathaway during his childhood. He is also survived by Janice’s children Gary, Mark (and wife Melinda), June, Matthew (and wife Jeanne), and by Matt’s children, Patrick, Brendan, Katie, Colin, and Megan DeFeo. Dick also had many faithful friends.
Dick’s remains will be interred at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Sherborn with his wife Janice’s family. “Gone Fishing” will be engraved on his stone.
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