Samuel Manning, 89

Camden, Maine

Samuel Manning, marine illustrator, builder, craftsman, teacher, harmonica player, sailor and oarsman, cast off and died gracefully at his home in Camden, Maine, on July 9, 2019. The town clock rang at the moment of his passing, welcoming him in his transition to his next great adventure.

Sam grew up during the Great Depression and spent his youth on Sunny Meadow Farm in Robertsville, Conn. Sam began his love of carpentry at Sunny Meadow Farm and he was taught true craftsmanship and construction skills by several mentors – skills he employed throughout his life. In 1943 Sam’s mother and stepfather drove Sam and his sister, Penny, cross- country via Rte. 66 to Newport Beach, Calif. Sam’s love of the water grew to a lifestyle – beginning when and he and his Sea Scout friends built their own diving suit with an air-fed helmet and used derelict dinghies to play in the surf.

After high school, Sam moved back to the East Coast where he enlisted in the Navy for a year and was assigned aboard DDG Sarsfield, a destroyer in Key West, Fla. Following his first enlistment, Sam worked a year at Nevens Yacht Yard on City Island, N.Y., and at Derecktor’s Yard in Mamaroneck. Sam returned to school where he spent a year at Bowdoin College studying to be an engineer.

After college Sam was a trainee at American Export Line, a steamship company in New York. Sam then worked as a salesman for Alexander Hamilton, where he soon became the top New England salesman in the organization. Though a great salesman, carpentry held more allure, and Sam transitioned to work as a carpenter for Hobbs, Inc., Custom Luxury Home Builders.

A self-taught illustrator, Sam’s literary career began in a small cabin back in Cape Breton Island, Canada, where he and his first wife, Helga, spent a year in which Sam honed his illustration skills and contacted the well-known publication “Maine Coast Fisherman” in Camden, Maine (which became “National Fisherman”) and was commissioned to submit articles and drawings to the magazine. Sam eventually moved back to Connecticut with Helga where his daughters were born, but returned to Camden in 1969 where he settled in Maine permanently.

In 1972 Sam and Helga divorced and in 1975 Sam met Susan, who became his second wife. Sam and Susan became a harbor fixture, where they rowed and sailed the fourth of Sam’s dories almost every day, rain or shine, for over 40 years in Camden Harbor and elsewhere. During the latter half of Sam’s life, he continued his work as an illustrator and authored, co-authored and illustrated several books, and was a frequent contributor to “WoodenBoat” magazine and other publications. Additionally, Sam was a gifted commercial artist.

Sam is survived by his wife, Susan Manning, and daughters, Erika Manning and Hilary Manning, as well as by a wonderful and caring community of friends.