Clyde L. MacKenzie Jr. of Fair Haven passed away peacefully April 29, 2024. He was 92 years old.
Clyde was born June 4, 1931, on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, to Clyde L. MacKenzie and Ruth Guilford MacKenzie. Clyde grew up on Martha’s Vineyard, where he graduated from high school. He was on the basketball team and enjoyed “The Glory Years” of Vineyard school basketball.
Clyde worked on farms and enjoyed spending time with his family and beloved dog, a Scottish terrier mix named Shorty. He worked his way through college harvesting shellfish on Martha’s Vineyard.
He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1955 and his master’s degree at William & Mary in 1958. He began his career working for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1958, spending 14 years at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s (NEFSC) Milford Laboratory in Connecticut. He then transferred to Prince Edward Island in 1972 and worked diligently on a successful oyster rehabilitation program.
Clyde and his family moved to New Jersey in 1973 where he was employed as a fishery research biologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the J.J. Howard Laboratory on Sandy Hook. His passion for working at NOAA came from growing up in a commercial fishing community on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1930s and 1940s. Throughout his career, he contributed immensely to the industry through his diligent research and saw tremendous value in combining fieldwork and laboratory work.
He was a careful researcher and a modest, practical writer. He was the author of over 60 publications and books, including “The History of Bay Scalloping,” “Fisheries of Raritan Bay” (1992), as well as “Martha’s Vineyard – Nine Local Histories of Island Life” (2017).
Clyde attained his level of success through hard work, determination and using the contributions of a great many local people interested in the same goals. His goal was always to bring about actual improvements in fisheries and local waters through working with other scientists as well as active and retired fishermen. He felt consistently proud about supporting NOAA because their goals are very noble. In Clyde’s words, “I have tried to unveil what Teddy Roosevelt said, ‘No words can unveil the mystery of the wilderness,’ by conducting numerous field observations that have included many underwater via scuba, in estuaries/bays and in the Atlantic Ocean.”
Clyde L. MacKenzie Jr. researched offshore fisheries for NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries (NMF) until he died. His dedication to federal service and devotion to the stewardship of our nation’s oceans will long be remembered.
Clyde was predeceased by his wife, Nati Rivera MacKenzie and sister Janice Teller of Ohio. He is survived by his daughter Natalie MacKenzie of Shrewsbury, two grandchildren, Emma Sheehan and Aidan Sheehan, and many dear relatives and friends.
Clyde will be remembered as a brilliant, dedicated biologist and as a kind and devoted father and grandfather. He also enjoyed photography, nature, traveling and rooting for the Boston Red Sox. He will be greatly missed.
A memorial service will be held on Martha’s Vineyard. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Vineyard Conservation Society at vineyardconservation.org in memory of Clyde.
Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank has been entrusted with the arrangements.
The article originally appeared in the May 16 – 22, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
