Gloucester Alumni

GLOUCESTER — Kevin Shore, formerly of Gloucester, passed away at home comfortably in his sleep on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 at the age of 67. He was residing in Johns Island, South Carolina, at the time of his death.

He was born on April 12, 1942, in Chicago, the son of Jack and Mary Shore. He grew up in Gloucester, where he had fond memories of fishing, driving his boat to school, and avidly reading maritime novels. Kevin graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in philosophy, an interest he pursued throughout his life. He served in the United States Army, stationed in Iran as a cartographer.

Kevin's early career in systems consulting with RCA and Arthur Andersen gave way to his sense of adventure and love of the sea, which led him to abandon those safer and more predictable pursuits for many years of work in the fishing industry. He was a pioneer of offshore lobstering, working out of Gloucester with his boat the Middlebank around 1970, then moving to Nantucket Island where he continued to fish and later started Nantucket Seafood Company, the island's largest retail and wholesale seafood business.

Like many in commercial fishing, he saw good times and bad in this line of work, but his unstoppable optimism always kept him going. Later in life, he worked for the Winthrop Corporation on Nantucket, and earned his Master Unlimited Tonnage Captain's license, which he used in marine salvage operations in South Florida and Panama. Most recently, he started a cookie company, Shoreline Kitchens, in Charleston, S.C.

Kevin enjoyed fishing throughout his life, all aspects of boating, spending time with his children and grandchildren, cooking, meddling with computers, and having endless laughs with friends. He could get you laughing so hard with his witty jokes that tears would come down your face. Kevin will surely miss spending the winter in the Florida Keys where he planned to escape cold winter weather to relax and spend time with friends and visit family while fishing off his Maine-built wooden lobster boat named 'Megan,' after his daughter.

Kevin is survived by his son and daughter in-law, Corey and Karen Shore of Swarthmore, Pa.; daughter, Megan Shore of Freeport, Maine; son, Thatcher Spring of Nantucket; son, Zac Shore of Santa Barbara, Calif.; grandchildren, Jack, Lily, William, Caitlin, and Phoebe; and brother, Brian Shore of Gloucester. Kevin was preceded in passing by his parents, Jack and Mary Shore of Gloucester.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Kevin's life. He was lucky to have so many great friends with good hearts who helped him and cared for him during good and bad times. Kevin was altruistic, adventurous, and probably too intelligent for his own good and will be missed sincerely.

"May the road rise up to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rain fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." — Irish Blessing.