Heyward Brent Wilbur Loved Waterfront Work

Heyward Brent Wilbur died at his home on Lagoon Pond in Vineyard Haven on May 7. He suffered from the serious disease of clinical depression. He was 52 years old.

A memorial service was held in Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven on May 14.

Brent had a colorful career, much of it associated with his love of the sea. Early in the days of the windsurfing sport, he was the part owner, publisher and editor of the New England Sailboard Journal. He held a 100-ton Coast Guard captain's license and served on many seagoing craft, including the Tabor Boy - owned by Tabor Academy in Marion - for which he was the third mate. Most recently he was associated with the Naushon Trust and their ferry between Hadley harbor and Woods Hole.

At the May 14 service many people spoke of Brent's pervasive, generous kindness toward other people, his ever present sense of humor, his loyalty to friends and colleagues and his active sense of responsibility to the environment and community. He was always involved in political campaigns and at one time ran for office - that of alderman from Ward 2 in Beverly.

Brent was graduated from the University of Southern Maine in Gorham and in 1983 married the former Lesley Morris from Quisett and Hamilton. They had one child, Nicholas Brent Wilbur, who is a student at Vermont Academy.

For several years he lived on Martha's Vineyard and held positions with the Machine and Marine Marina, Old Port Marine and several taxi companies, where he would do unique and humorous Island tours.

Brent leaves, in addition to his son, four siblings, Cynthia Thomas, an associate professor of nursing at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo., John M. (Jay) Wilbur 3rd, the Vineyard Haven harbor master, Dean Gordon Wilbur, a process scientist at New England Biolabs in Ipswich, and Ann King, a teacher in the Greenwich, Conn., Day School. He is also survived by his parents, Vineyard residents Dr. and Mrs. John M. Wilbur.

Donations may be made in his memory to Martha's Vineyard Community Services, 111 Edgartown Road, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 or to the Lagoon Pond Association, P.O. Box 1978, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.