Paul Doyle Rooney

Paul D Rooney, born December 9, 1935 in Medford, MA died June 29, 2023. The son of the late Francis X. and Alice (Doyle) Rooney; he was the third oldest of ten children. Growing up in Somerville, MA he moved to Hopkinton, MA after marrying his wife Cecelia (McLaughlin) and lived there until moving to Jupiter, FL in 2008. Paul developed an early interest in boats and ships as a young boy; spending summers at his grandparent’s home in Center Harbor, NH, he spent a lot of time observing while the MV Mount Washington was being worked on at Center Harbor. Young Paul was fascinated by the work on the 205-foot boat and would hang out with the crew doing odd jobs. Eventually he became sort of a mascot to the captain and crew. When the “Mount” made its 65 mile, twice-daily trip around the lake he sailed on the boat almost every day. He would help steer the boat with Captain Avery or help in the concession stand that the captain’s wife ran. When the last trip of the day ended at the Weirs, Paul would either stay over with Captain Avery and his wife or get a ride home to center Harbor with the chief engineer. He did this frequently for three summers. At fifteen Paul got a summer job as a deck hand on the Boston to Nantasket passenger boat Allerton. By this time ships & the sea were his goal. In 1953 he joined the US Coast Guard and after six months at Barnegat Lifesaving Station, was transferred to the CG Cutter Acushnet out of Portland, ME, where he spent the remainder of his four-year hitch in the Coast Guard. While on the Acushnet he was involved in numerous rescues of fishing boats on Georges and the Grand Banks. Late on the evening of July 25 of 1956, while the Acushnet was anchored at Bar Harbor, ME, they were ordered to get underway immediately and head towards the area of Nantucket, as there had been a collision between the Swedish liner Stockholm and the Italian liner Andrea Doria. The crew worked all night getting towing lines and pumps rigged for towing and pumping out the Doria. However, at about 10 AM, when still about eighty miles from the Andrea Doria, the mission was cancelled as they were notified that the Doria had sunk. The following year the Acushnet was assigned to International Ice Patrol on the Grand Banks and homeported in Argentia, Newfoundland. This assignment lasted from April to July, and involved for the most part, sitting with the southernmost iceberg on the Grand Banks to alert shipping. By now he had risen to the rank of boatswain mate, third class, but was convinced that being an officer on a merchant ship would be a more satisfying career. Therefore, after his discharge from the Coast Guard in 1957 Paul applied and was accepted at Maine Maritime Academy. He graduated with honors in June of 1961 with a BS in Nautical Science and as a licensed Third Mate in the U.S. Merchant Marine. He also received a commission as an Ensign in the US Naval Reserve. After graduation he sailed on non-union tankers for over a year before switching to cargo ships through the Masters, Mates & Pilots union. For the next five years he sailed “off the board” through the New York union hall on numerous ships to all parts of the globe with various companies. Then, in 1967 he took a permanent job as second mate with Farrell Lines. Within a short time, he was sailing as chief mate on Farrell Line’s runs to West, South and East Africa and to Australia and New Zealand. In 1968 while continuing to sail on Farrell Line ships he resigned his Naval Reserve commission as LTJG in opposition to the Viet Nam War. In 1976 he started sailing as captain on all Farrell’s runs, now including the Mediterranean ports and India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. He continued sailing with Farrell Lines until 1982 when the consolidation of container lines transferred his ship to United States lines. For the next four years he sailed on US Lines’ North European run to the UK, Holland, Germany and France; then his ship was transferred to the West Coast for US Lines’ Far East run for another year. Finally, due to further consolidation in the industry his ship was sold to Sea-Land Services on their runs to the Far East from the West Coast. He continued sailing with Sea-Land to the Far East for the next ten years until his retirement in 1997. Throughout his career he attended and completed numerous technical courses at the Masters, Mates & Pilots:Maritime Institute of Technology & Graduate Studies located in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. His wife of 42 years, Cecelia, predeceased him; he leaves his daughters Michelle Washington and her husband John, grandchildren Darby and Jake Brown of Jupiter, FL; Laura Goddard and her husband Michael of Nashua, NH. He stayed active during his retirement years with cooking, reading, politics and computers; learning several computer languages along with image manipulation programs for repairing old photos. He was a long-time member of The Council of American Master Mariners, and never lost his interest in the sea by following all maritime news; reading and analyzing NTSB reports of ship incidents and casualties.

Paul Doyle Rooney

December 9, 1935 - June 29, 2023