Captain David Palmer Stickney

Captain David Palmer Stickney died in his Newbury home three days short of this 87th birthday on Monday, November 24th. He took his leave in his sleep, dying peacefully after a 5-year battle with cancer.

David was the second son of John Fernald Stickney and Myrna (Palmer) Stickney and was born in 1938. His older brother Jack predeceased him in death. He leaves behind his wife Carol Talbot Barron; his son Douglas Palmer Stickney, and daughter Tracy Ann Stickney and wife Megan Stickney; his five treasured grandchildren, Benjamin Stickney and his wife Tayla Stickney, Kelley Ann Stickney, Tatum Stickney, Hawk Stickney, and Boden Stickney; two great grandchildren, Charli May and Roscoe Stickney.

Dave had a spirited and adventurous childhood. Having had ship captains in his family line, he developed a wanderlust for seeing the world by sea and land. He ran from his home, barefoot and free to his grandparents’ cottage at the tip of Plum Island. There he became a beach rat, the whole day spent on the beach where he swam, raced and learned to sail. He sought out abandoned silver mines in the low hills behind his house and went to shoot woodchucks in the Newbury dump. He began the tireless acquisition of local lore and scientific truths, learning geographical terms and topographical quirks of his town and never forgot them.

David graduated from Newbury High School and then found his next adventure in the Army Reserves. He joined the Marines, taking the bus to Camp Lejeune in Georgia. He returned home after nine months; harder, stronger, disciplined and ready to seek his fortune.

Dave then followed his grandfather’s example and joined the Bell Telephone Company becoming a lineman for the next thirty years. He raised his children with his wife Polly Ann (Havers) Statom. He joined St. Marks Lodge, A.F. & A.M., following in the family tradition.

But over these working years his wanderlust and restless feet, were increasing their call. Thirty years later and he was ready to retire and go to sea. These years were the Heart’s Desire years. He had an Alden Schooner rebuilt and took off for the coast of Maine and the Bahamas in winter. This was the life he had dreamed about and he had made it a reality at last. He became an entrepreneur, offering day sails around the islands of Maine. In Mount Desert he supplemented his income by running the Islesford Ferry for a number of years.

In these years, Dave achieved a reputation for competence at the helm and an eagerness to promote the lore of the sea. He ultimately became a “Captain on Call’, sailing boats up and down the Atlantic Seaboard. He loved telling the stories of his adventures, which were full of telling details – Dave never forgot what he learned. He was an evenhanded captain, careful to follow all the rules of the sea. But knowing that his crew were human beings. One of those crews he captained to the Great Lakes was all female. And he returned alive.

In the early two thousands he was asked by the head of the Newbury Historical Society to confer with historians to identify people and places in old Newbury photographs. The Committee had found a walking recorder of all things Newbury.

For a number of years he ran a B&B in his home. He truly retired in 2004 and devoted his time to keeping his property and family ship-shape.

The Stickney family would like to thank Massachusetts General Hospital for their expert care when illness struck. In particular, we would like to thank Dr. Samuel Klempner, a researcher in the Department of Oncology for his sustaining wisdom, and Dr. Katherine Nichols of MGH Cardiac Department.

Visiting hours will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2025, from 2 - 3 P.M. at Elliott, Woodworth & Rogers Family Funeral Home, 35 Green Street, Newburyport, immediately followed by Masonic Services by St. Mark’s Lode, A.F & A.M. of Newburyport and Funeral Services at the funeral home. Private burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery in Newbury.