Vincent “Lucky” Oppedisano Jr., originally of Great Island, died at 57 on Nov. 20. Lucky fished his whole life despite obstacles and detours, and he is remembered for aiding fellow fishermen in ways both big and small.
He first went out lobstering at the age of 4 with his father on Quahog Bay. He fished from Richard Webber’s wharf on Pinkham Point for many years before moving to Ash Cove Wharf for the last four or five. Lucky was one of only two fishermen to keep lobstering from the wharf year-round after it was damaged in the storms of January 2024.
Lucky grew up near Cundy’s Harbor. He went to college at his father’s urging, studying to become an electrician. He made the dean’s list and earned a degree, his father said, then he handed his diploma to his dad and went fishing.
He fished even though he was prone to seasickness on all but the calmest days. He continued fishing — sometimes with his father or his son, Nicholas — until the day he died, suffering a medical event while returning from a day of hauling traps.
His father, Vincent “Lucky” Oppedisano Sr., said his son was meticulous about his fishing and his boat. If Lucky Jr. wasn’t satisfied with how he’d set a line of traps, he’d haul them back and set them again, even if a running tide made the task difficult. He’d stay on the boat each day to clean it after unloading his catch, sometimes for an hour and a half. The deck was clean enough to eat off of, his father said with pride.
The Oppedisanos also shared a love for lobster boat racing. Lucky would sometimes race his father’s boat, removing any equipment he could to reduce weight and gain speed. In recent years he was a fixture in the crowd of spectators at Mitchell Field and other race sites.
Lucky took care of other fishermen, in big ways and small. In 2014, while fishing offshore with father and son Daniel and Devin Pesce, Devin’s foot got tangled in a string of traps as they were going into the water. Devin was pulled beneath the frigid ocean for a few minutes, until Lucky and Daniel could haul the line back and cut him free. They performed CPR while they headed to the nearest wharf, and Devin recovered after being hospitalized.
David and Ellie Crosman, friends of Lucky and managers of Midcoast Marine Supply in Brunswick, said Lucky would always take the time to try to untangle another fisherman’s gear from his own rather than cut it away. If he had to cut it, he’d tie it back together and call the fisherman to let him know what happened.
Cundy’s Harbor fisherman Eliot Nixon bought his first lobster boat from Lucky Sr. and said Lucky Jr. was helpful as he got used to fishing from a larger boat after years in a skiff. “He was very nice and very encouraging,” Nixon said.
Lucky Jr. continued to fish from Harpswell after moving to Lewiston to live with his fiancee of five years, Tracey Brousseau. Tracey said that when the two met, Lucky was coming out of a “deep, dark hole” — rebuilding his life and his fishing business following a divorce and legal troubles. Tracey had lost her husband to suicide before meeting Lucky. She said he was gentle, considerate and patient in their relationship.
She said he sent her a photo of the sunrise every morning that he saw one, and always texted her when he had arrived safely at the boat. He would call his father from the boat every night as he headed back to the wharf.
Others recall Lucky’s texts as well. David Crosman said he might get a photo from Lucky in the evening as he was relaxing under the stars in the hot tub, or at 3 a.m. as he prepared to head for the boat. In one memorable photo — not shared with the Anchor — Lucky stood in the dark on his Lewiston deck, stark naked and holding a cup of coffee.
Lucky proposed to Tracey on Dec. 1, 2020. Although the two had not yet married, Lucky wore a necklace and ring to symbolize his commitment. Ellie Crosman said he often talked about his love for Tracey. He wanted to get married somewhere warm, but they were putting it off because they couldn’t leave Tracey’s sickly dog.
Tracey said he was as much a grandfather to her own grandchildren as he was to his own. She said he didn’t get to spend as much time with his children, Nicholas and Kaylee, as he wanted to, but she saw him help them when they needed him.
When Lucky had time, he and Tracey would sometimes go out on his boat or go to a lobster boat race. The two had discussed plans to buy a house together in the Carolinas.
Lucky Sr. plans to spread his son’s ashes on the family’s island in Quahog Bay and at a few special spots where they liked to fish together.
Correction: An earlier version of this article online and in the January print edition incorrectly reported Lucky Oppedisano Jr.’s age as 56. He was 57.
