Guemes Skipper Cecil Weyrich
Cecil Henry Weyrich was born October 7, 1907 in Bayview, Washington. He was one of four children to Maude and Henry Weyrich.
His parents had come to Skagit County in the 1880s and he grew up in the area. In 1928, he went to work for the Puget Sound Navigation. The story goes that he was eating lunch down by the docks in Bellingham and was offered a job to work abord the boats. He took the job and fell in love. He worked aboard the ferries for 44 years and served as deckhand, mate, and master. He was working when Puget Sound Navigation was succeeded by Black Ball Lines and then later by the Washington State Ferry System. And he spent most of his time as a captain in the San Juan Islands.
He married Nora Margaret Haynes on November 12, 1933 and they had one son, Richard Weyrich. The couple spent much of their retirement years traveling and spending time with their grandchildren.
Cecil was the last surviving member of the original charter members of the Pacific Region of the Masters, Mates and Pilots Local No. 6 of Seattle that started in 1931. He was a member of the Maritime Lodge Masons 239 in Seattle for 73 and the Fidalgo Lodge #77 in Anacortes for 52 years.
“Capt.” Weyrich passed away on June 3, 2003 in Anacortes, Washington and is interred at Grand View Cemetery in Anacortes, Washington.
