Maine’s beloved “Lobster Lady” has passed away at the age of 105.
Virginia “Ginny” Oliver died Friday, according to her friend, Barbara Walsh, who also wrote a book about Ginny called “The Lobster Lady.”
Ginny was the oldest lobster trapper in Maine. She started catching lobsters off the coast of Rockland when she was a little girl and was lobstering well past her 104th birthday.
“She was one of the most optimistic women I’ve ever met. She never complained. She was always laughing and sharing her joy with anyone who came to visit her. She was a Maine treasure,” Walsh said.
Though female lobstermen are fairly common these days, when Ginny was growing up, it was mostly unheard of.
Ginny was destined for this life, in some ways. Her father was a lobster dealer, starting around the turn of the century, and instilled a love of the business in Ginny, who would join him on trips.
And regardless of her age, Ginny would say, “‘I’m still the boss,” at sea and on land.
Even after all those years, Ginny would still get excited about a lobster dinner and would fix one for herself about once a week.
Ginny was a Maine icon, and she will be missed, but her legacy will live on.
The Associated Press contributed to this report