Edward Prada, 84, Was Katama Seafoods Owner

Edward Prada of Columbia, Md., and formerly of Edgartown died on March 18, his 84th birthday, after a long illness, surrounded by his family.

Ed was born March 18, 1922, the older son and second child of Frank E. Prada and Olive G. Vincent, on North Summer street in Edgartown. He was the grandson of Antone and Isabel Prada and Edward T. and Lilly Vincent.

Ed was descended from a long line of fishermen, and along with his brother, Richard, and sisters, Frances and Catherine, spent most of his childhood on the water. He spent many summers at Pasque island with his aunt and uncle, Doris and Richard Norton, and at Nashawena island with his grandfather, Edward T., who were caretakers for the Forbes family.

Like many kids of his era, he worked after school at a young age, opening scallops for his father and delivering milk for his grandfather. Ed and his brother, Richard, gave sailing lessons and maintained the boats at the Harborside Inn Boat Yard.

He was an avid kite flyer and won numerous awards.

Edward was graduated from Edgartown High School in 1940 and fished with his uncle, Warren Vincent of Woods Hole; he later enrolled in Hemphill Diesel Schools in Long Island, N.Y., graduating in 1942.

As a civilian for the Army Corps of Engineers, Ed went to Fort Simonds, Jamaica, where the United States had an interest in protecting the bauxite industry for airplane manufacturing. There he met and married Simone M. Rebhan in 1943. After the war, they returned to Edgartown and Ed resumed fishing. Shortly after, he was invited to work at the Electrical Research & Development Laboratories of the Department of the Army at Fort Belvoir, Va. Edward worked hard, pursuing his education at night. This culminated in a degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University in 1954. He was inducted into Sigma Tau, the honorary society of electrical engineers.

At Fort Belvoir, Ed was an Army program manager for diesel engine-driven generator sets. At the time, each branch of the service had proprietary generator sets. Ed's major accomplishment, for which he won the Decoration of Meritorious Civilian Service from the Department of the Army in 1973, was to standardize these generator sets for all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. He also was involved in developing generators for the Saturn rocket at Huntsville, Ala.

One of the highlights of Ed's life was his participation in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) inspection tour in 1964, which took him to all NATO countries, from Turkey to Norway.

Most Vineyarders and friends will remember Ed as a commercial fisherman and the proprietor, along with his longtime friend Robert Hathaway, of Katama Seafoods.

In 1973 Ed retired from the Army Corps of Engineers and realized his lifelong dream of returning to the sea. He started by lobstering and swordfishing with Nelson Smith on the F/V Loyal. He eventually purchased the Loyal from Nelson and helped to pioneer the conch fishing industry in Nantucket Sound. Shortly thereafter, to transport the conch to Rhode Island, he founded Katama Seafoods, along with Robert Hathaway, Louis and Peter Hathaway, and Henry Smith. At the height of the conch fishery, a boat regularly landed more than 4,000 pounds a day, and Katama Seafoods shipped over a million pounds of conch per year.

Illness forced Ed to give up offshore fishing in the early 1980s. While still running Katama Seafoods, Ed and Robert began quahaugging with Ed's brother, Richard, and sister, Frances. The group was affectionately known as the Meadow Muffins, and would regularly outdig other shellfishermen half their age.

As fisheries declined in the early 1990s and Ed continued to have health problems, Katama Seafoods closed its doors. Ed retired to Jamaica full-time and enjoyed the weather and spending time with his family. He was particularly close to his mother in law, Alma Tilburne, and her family, although he and his wife were divorced in 1997.

In his final years he returned to the United States and enjoyed many happy times with his friend and close companion, Olga Bennetti of Woodbridge, Va.

Ed was keenly aware of his civic responsibilities. He served as Edgartown's electrical inspector and was a member of the personnel board as well as the shellfish committee.

He is survived by his children, Catherine Ward of Columbia, Md., Carol Connor of Cape Coral, Fla., and Edward A. Prada of Greenville, Pa.; his sisters, Frances Resendes of Edgartown and Catherine Griffin of Falmouth; six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Richard.

A memorial service will be held in Edgartown this summer. Charitable contributions in his name may be made to the Edgartown Federated Church.