With hearts full of admiration and deep respect, we remember the extraordinary life of Virginia Oliver, known to so many simply as “The Lobster Lady.” A true Maine legend, supporter of the Maine Lobster Festival and lobster industry, Virginia passed away at age 105, still embodying the spirit, grit and heart of the lobstering life she loved so deeply.
Virginia was more than a local icon; she was a living piece of Maine’s maritime history. Born and raised in Rockland, she began lobstering as a young girl during the Great Depression, long before GPS and fiberglass hulls, before women were welcomed in the industry, and decades before the world came to know her name.
She spent more than 90 years hauling traps off the Midcoast, many of them alongside her son Max aboard the F/V Virginia, a boat aptly named after the woman who could outwork just about anyone. Even as she turned 100 and beyond, Virginia never let age slow her down. “I like to be out there,” she once said, a quiet nod to the rhythm and satisfaction of a life built on hard work and salty air.
Virginia’s fame found her late in life, when she was featured as the world’s oldest working lobsterman, a title she bore with modesty and a hint of amusement. “I never paid attention to it,” she said with a shrug, even as news crews from NBC, CBS and international outlets made their way to Rockland to tell her story. Book covers, TV interviews, a children’s picture book, and letters from admirers around the globe followed, though she was just as happy being recognized with a wave at Hannaford.
She represented the town of Rockland and the Maine Lobster Festival as the 2020 Grand Marshal of the Big Parade, and though the Festival was cancelled that year, she reprised the role when the Festival returned. We were honored to have her lead the celebration. Her no-nonsense work ethic, sparkling blue eyes and enduring sense of purpose reminded us all of what it means to live with passion and pride, to keep showing up, decade after decade, for the work that defines you.
Virginia once said she’d stop lobstering “when I die.” And while health challenges kept her mostly off the water in recent seasons, her heart never left the sea. She remained, as one friend described, like Maine granite: steady, weathered, full of character and impossibly strong.
In honoring Virginia, we honor generations of hardworking Mainers, and especially the women, who have made their living on the water. Her story, quietly remarkable for so many years, became a beacon of hope and resilience during a time the world desperately needed it. Amid a global pandemic, Virginia reminded us that joy can be found in routine, that passion doesn’t retire, and that there is beauty in a life lived with purpose.
We will miss Virginia Oliver dearly, but her legacy is etched into the soul of our community and the waters she called home.
Thank you, Virginia, for showing us what it means to live a full life. We’ll see your spirit in every sunrise over the bay, every trap pulled from the sea, and every parade that rolls down Rockland’s Main Street.
About the Maine Lobster Festival
Five days of fun and feasting on the fabulous coast of Maine, the Maine Lobster Festival attracts thousands of people to the Midcoast region and has a long tradition of giving back to the local community. The 2026 Festival will be held July 29-Aug. 2 and will celebrate its 79th anniversary. Once again, admission will be free. For more information about the Maine Lobster Festival, visit the website at www.mainelobsterfestival.com, “like” it on Facebook, follow it on X (formerly Twitter) at @MELobsterFest, and on Instagram at @mainelobsterfest.
