Capt. Wayne S. Ingham

Captain Wayne S. Ingham, 52, of Rochester, died at sea Saturday, Sept. 4, 2004, after his fishing vessel, the Nancy Christine, was lost at sea. He was the former husband of Christine M. (Johnson) Ingham. Born in New Bedford, the son of the late George and Loretta (Levesque) Ingham, he lived in Rochester most of his life. He was a communicant of St. Joseph Church, Fairhaven.

Capt. Ingham was the co-owner and captain of the Nancy Christine for many years. He was a Little League coach in Rochester and volunteered numerous hours to the construction and maintenance of the baseball fields in Rochester. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War.

Survivors include his former wife; his loving companion, Gayle; two sons, Chad Ingham of New Bedford and Shane Ingham of Dartmouth; a brother, Bruce W. Ingham of Fairhaven; a niece, Stacey Ingham; six nephews, Bruce G. Ingham, Peter Johnson, James Copeland, Duane Johnson, Michael Johnson, and Kevin Johnson; two godchildren, Lani Quintin and Erin Desrochers; and three cousins, Sandra Jones, Frank DeMarchi and Joseph DeMarchi.

The Nancy Christine capsized and sank on the evening of September 4, 2004, in Nantucket Sound. The crew had been fishing for sea clams. Captain Bill Manthorne, on the fishing boat Tunacious, had cruised past the Nancy Christine and seen nothing unusual. Moments later, he saw a puff of white smoke above the vessel. Within minutes, it had flipped over. The Coast Guard sent two rescue boats, a cutter, and a helicopter, but they found only a circular flotation device and no sign of the crew. The search continued, and State Police divers joined the Coast Guard, but the captain, Wayne Ingham, and crew member Michael Leonardo were not found.