Antonio Fonseca

Antonio "Tony" Fonseca was a retired Merchant Mariner who built his own lobster boat, a wooden vessel with an inboard motor. He attended New Bedford public schools and joined the Merchant Marine at age 17. He loved sports and was the manager of the SS United States baseball team. He lived with his sister Ernestine in the gray split-level house where grew up. Mr. Fonseca was survived by his sister Ernestine, another brother and sister, and several nieces and nephews. Ernestine Fonseca said that her brother "loved his boat and the ocean and that was his destiny."

Antonio "Tony" Fonseca was pulling lobster traps off  Quick's Hole on September 13, 2004, when his home-built lobster boat exploded. The Coast Guard dispatched two boats and a rescue helicopter, and they took Mr. Fonseca to the emergency medical services facility at Wood's Hole, where he died.