Galen B. Turner, a fisherman, Swans Island historian and man of many interests and talents died at age 55 on Nov. 1, 2011, at his home.

He was born April 29, 1956, in Castine, son of Swans Island fisherman Theodore A. “Buddy” Turner and his wife Geraldine (Haskell) Turner.

Coming from generations of island men who made their living harvesting the sea, there was never any doubt in young Galen’s mind that fishing would be a big part of his future. But he had other talents and more academic interests, as well, which his education at Mount Desert Island High School (Class of ’74,) equipped him to pursue.

After he graduated, Galen started his fishing career and began doing some caretaking at the summer estate of Cincinnati Symphony conductor Erich Kunzel, with whom he developed a strong friendship.

An early marriage to a Swans Island girl failed, but produced his son Galen, Jr.

The senior Galen was a little gun shy about relationships for a while after that, but after a few years Galen’s brother Ted suggested that he get in touch with a New Hampshire girl he knew named Kathleen Marie Colburn.

Galen apparently knew from their first phone call that Kathleen was the girl for him. She, on the other hand, needed more convincing.

“I liked him well enough, right away,” says Kathleen. “He was intelligent, funny and sweet, but I was from the mountain area of New Hampshire and he was living on an island in Maine.”

Galen continued courting Kathleen by phone and letters for six months before they finally met in 1985. Even though Kathleen liked what she saw, when she first set eyes on the lanky dark-haired fisherman with the dreamy blue eyes, it still took him another couple of years of courting to convince her to come live on a little island off the coast of Maine.

Kathleen says she never regretted any of it. Galen made it clear throughout their 24 years of marriage that she had been worth the wait.

After they married on Aug. 22, 1987, the couple settled into the house that Galen had built in the Minturn area of Swans Island. She especially liked the sight of her husband’s boat, the Kathleen M., coming in after a day of fishing. While Galen fished and continued his estate work, Kathleen took a job with the island’s Saturn Press. Before long their daughter Jenny completed the family.

As busy a man as Galen was with his fishing, carpentry and caretaking work, his daughter says he always made time for her and her brother – especially on Saturdays. When they were old enough they, in turn, found time for their dad, when he needed a stern man aboard the Kathleen M.

Jenny says she is something of a girly-girl and didn’t enjoy pursuits such as tinkering with old cars as her brother Galen, Jr. had.

“My dad wasn’t quite sure what to do with a daughter,” she says, “so he was glad fishing was something we could do together.”

While her brother has carried on the family tradition of lobstering, Jenny decided she was better suited to nursing. One of her father’s proudest moments was seeing her graduate from the nursing school at University of Maine-Orono this spring.

This did not prevent her, however, from having a final season of fishing with her dad.

At some point Galen became interested in exploring his deep island roots, delving into the family history and the history of the island and its traditional fishing and boatbuilding industries. His genealogical research traced the family back to William Bradford, a Mayflower pilgrim who became governor of the pilgrim’s first settlement at Plymouth Plantation.

At various libraries and town halls archives Galen found boatbuilding plans for historic vessels built at Swans Island boatyards for more than a century. He made scale-and-a-half models of many of them. He found vintage photographs and news stories from microfiche archives and recorded oral histories from his family and neighbors. He planned to compile all this information into a comprehensive history of Swans Island and was well on his way to that goal. Eventually he had so much archival material he and his brother Ted founded the Swans Island Lobster & Marine Museum. He was also an active member of the Swans Island Fisherman’s Co-Op.

“He always had some project going on,” says Kathleen, “Usually several of them.”

Even when a flu virus attacked his heart, four years ago, his wife says Galen hardly missed a step. Although he became fatigued more easily after that, he made very few concessions to his damaged heart. When his friend, maestro Kunzel, died, Galen went back to fishing full time He was also helping his son renovate an old house on the island and found time to take his grandson Joshua on fun outings, just as he had taken his own children.

At his grandfather’s funeral service, 10-year-old Joshua recalled his last beach outing with his grandfather. “We found one of Grampy’s [his great-grandfather’s] old buoys, which was damaged too much to use again,” he said. “So he showed me how to cut it in half and turn it into a boat. We set it afloat and I guess it’ll probably turn up on some other beach for some other kid to find.”

On Nov. 1, Galen was battling a cold and decided not to fish that day. Instead, he helped Galen, Jr. for a few hours. Feeling a bit fatigued, he went home at about 3 p.m., poured himself a glass of cold milk, got comfortable on the couch to watch some TV, and passed away.

In addition to his parents and his wife Kathleen, Galen is survived by his son, Galen A. and Galen’s wife, Jennifer Lemoine Turner; his daughter Jenny M. Turner; grandson Joshua B. Turner; brother Theodore L. Turner and his wife Bonnie; many aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces; and many good friends.

A memorial service was held in celebration of Galen’s life Nov. 5, 2011 at Mill Pond Park on Swans Island. Donations are welcome in Galen’s memory for future publication of his book about island history to Swans Island Lobster & Marine Museum, P.O. Box 374, Swans Island ME 04685. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.