Capt. Richard A. Moniz

A memorial service will be held at the Seamen's Bethel at 3 p.m. Sunday for Richard A. Moniz, 29, of Fairhaven who was lost when the fishing boat Lark sank last month.

Mr. Moniz was the husband of Jacqueline (Fournier) Moniz and son of Shirley (Travers) Moniz of Acushnet and the late Richard B. Moniz.

The service will be performed by the Bethel's chaplain, the Rev. C. Leonard Newbert, and the Rev. Kenneth D. Nanfelt, pastor of the Mullein Hill Baptist Church in Lakeville.

Mr. Moniz was the skipper and one of two crew members of the Fairhaven-based Lark, a 46-foot dragger that had run aground on a ledge at Great Point off Nantucket and sank Oct. 9 as the Coast Guard tried to pull it off. His body has not been recovered.

The other crewman, Richard Sylvia, 45, of Falmouth, was recovered from the water. Mr. Moniz had worked as a fisherman for eight years of the last ten, excepting a period two years ago when he operated Chippy, the barge that delivers fresh water to fishing boats preparing for trips. He later returned to fishing. The trip on the Lark was his fourth and his first as skipper.

Born in New Bedford, he lived in Acushnet for the greater part of his life before moving to Fairhaven four years ago. He attended Acushnet schools and was elected president of his senior class in 1978 at Old Colony Regional Vocationial-Technical High School.

Survivors include his widow; his mother, a son Ryan A. of Fairhaven; a daughter Jamie Moniz of Fairhaven; three brothers, Raymond of Wolcott, Conn., Roy of Acushnet and Robert of Waterbury, Conn.; two sisters, Linda Correira of Talkeetna, Alaska, and Carol Ford of South Dartmouth, and nieces and nephews.

The Lark was en route from Nantucket Harbor to fish in Nantucket Sound when she grounded near Great Point. A Coast Guard utility boat arrived at around 8:00 p.m. and used a towline to free the vessel. After about five minutes, the Lark became free but suddenly capsized to port and sank. The Coast Guard crew rescued crew member Richard Sylvia, but Richard "Rick" Moniz was lost. The Coast Guard used five rescure boats, three helicopters, and a jet, as well as divers, but his body was not recovered.