South Yarmouth – William Alexs Sharkey passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday July 21, 2021 after a brief illness at Cape Cod Hospital. He was 78 years old. He was the son of the late Harry and Sue (Davis) Sharkey.
Bill graduated from Brockton High in 1960. He served in the Coast Guard from 1962 to 1966, serving overseas during the Vietnam Conflict.
After his service, he moved to Cape Cod and began a career as a Commercial Lobsterman as part of the Chatham commercial fishing community for over 15 years. At the height of his fishing career, from sunup to sundown, he managed more than 1,000 lobster pots located from Truro to Chatham. He fished out of Chatham Fish Pier on his lobster boat, “The Helene S” named after his wife Helene the Mother of his three children.
After his retirement from lobstering, Bill followed his next passion of numismatics and opened Bass River Coin Store in South Yarmouth where he worked up until his death. The business flourished for more than 40 years and was a local landmark.
Bill is survived by the mother of his children, Helene Sharkey (Murray) of Harwich, MA, his three children, Christopher William and his wife Patricia of New Orleans, LA. William Joseph and his wife Christine of Potomac, MD. and Jeannine Susan of Winthrop. He also leaves behind his Sister Susan Harvey and her husband Bruce of Killingsworth, CT., his grandchildren, TJ, Megan and Sophia as well as his niece and nephew Amelia and Eli.
Bill was known for contentment from simple pleasures such as gardening, enjoying a good cup of coffee, sitting by a wood fire, relaxing on the beach, listening to the “oldies” and was talented at crafting stained glass lamps. He was also known for his love of Hawaiian shirts. Bill was incredibly proud of his Lithuanian ancestry and enjoyed cooking authentic Lithuanian dishes as well as a love of cooking and enjoyed great food.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 4 PM-7 PM on Thursday August 5th at Nickerson Funeral Home in Chatham. Bill had a strong love and connection to the ocean so a burial at sea will follow at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in William’s memory to Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance. http://www.capecodfishermen.org
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.11.1