OBITUARIES

BEVERLY MATTOX Selbyville, Delaware

Beverly Mattox, 85, of Selbyville, Delaware, passed peacefully on August 10, 2023, at Delaware Hospice in Milford.

Bev was born in Baltimore, Maryland on Sept. 10, 1937, and was the only child of the late Thelma Kelly Meredith Brown and William Morton Meredith.

An active educator for over 50 years, after college she served as a teacher, principal, project director and training specialist. In the mid-1960s she was one of the first teachers to wear pantsuits. Always a trailblazer, she was reprimanded by administrators because her lipstick was “too pink”. She always championed women’s rights.

Beverly conducted programs for school systems and organizations in 26 states and Canada. She addressed more than 400 groups with her specialized knowledge of parenting and women’s friendships.

She was a member of Washington Plaza Baptist Church and attended Sound United Methodist Church, always singing in the choir. She directed the”Especially For You project and the Prayer Bears project in her church.

She worked tirelessly for the less fortunate, always running bags of donations to veterans, women’s shelters, and other church projects. She was recognized as a Jefferson Award winner on Delmarva for all of her philanthropy.

She is survived by two daughters, Leanne Ruark and husband Gary of Eden, and Leslie Knopfler and husContinued on Page 64

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She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Tony Mattox, in 2018. They met on the beach in Ocean City in 1954, honeymooned in Ocean City in 1958, and bought their first condo on 32nd Street in 1972, also in Ocean City.

There will be a remembrance of life service, which all are invited to, at 10 a.m., Aug. 25, at the Sound United Methodist Church, 37894 Sound Church Road. After the service, at the annex next door, there will be a luncheon for all.

Condolences may be sent by visiting bishophastingsfh.com

THOMAS “TOM” W. SNYDER

Newark, Maryland

Thomas “Tom” W. Snyder, 79, of Newark, Maryland, passed away on Aug. 5, 2023, peacefully in his home surrounded by family.

Tom was born on May 16,1944, in Milton, Pennsylvania, to the late William “Bill” D. Snyder and Emily M. Snyder.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Deborah Snyder; son Rodney Snyder (Lynne); and siblings Jack, Dan and Betty.

He is survived by his daughter, Bernice Scott (Andrew); stepchildren Rebecca Braun (Klaus), Jason Gaskill, and Kristin Perry (Rob); grandchildren Kelsey, Karley and Adrianne Snyder, Drew and Lydia Kappelmeier, Avery Scott, Sydney Chandler, Sheyanne Aleshire, Jarrett Aleshire, Kristin Braun, Clayton Gaskill, Abigail Gaskill, and Sophia and Brandon Perry; siblings Lois, Maryann, Linda, Robert and Joe; and many nieces and nephews.

Tom was raised and worked on the Snyder Family Dairy Farm in Millmont, Pennsylvania, where they grew corn and hay, raised young heifers and had milking cows.

He graduated from Mifflinburg Joint High School in 1962. After graduation he went to work for Asplundh Tree Expert Company. He then got married, started a family, and moved on to be an auto mechanic and school bus driver before going back to work the Snyder Family Farm.

In 1972, he moved his family to Berlin (Saint Martin), Maryland, to work on the Hudson Dairy Farm. For a short time, he worked at Eastern Shore Gas.

In the mid ‘80s, he went back to being an auto mechanic and then owner of Bridge Texaco in Ocean City, which later became Bridge Shell and then finally Bridge Auto Repair.

He retired in 2007 where he spent his “Glory Days” hunting his special spot that he liked to call “Ridge Road,” processing deer, farming and canning produce at County Line Farm with owner John Hales and many of his good buddies.

He was a loving husband, dad, ”Pappy” and friend who also enjoyed fishing, NASCAR and his many pets. He was a “salt of the earth” kind of man who lived a simple life and didn’t like to see anything go to waste.

We all love and miss you dearly and look forward to seeing you in heaven one day.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Arrangements are in the care of Eastern Shore Cremation and Funeral Service, 504 Franklin Ave., Berlin, Maryland 21811.

To send condolences to the family, visit easternshorecremation.com.

ROBERT J. CLEARY

Youngstown

Robert J. Cleary, 86, passed away Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

He was born Oct. 13, 1936, in Youngstown, a son of William Cleary Sr. and Ruth Landahl Cleary.

Bob obtained his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Youngstown State University and he proudly served in the United States Air Force. He had an illustrious career as a salesman with Easco Aluminum.

Bob was an active member of St. Edward Church in Youngstown. He served on the parish council and devoted many hours to volunteering at the food pantry.

Outside of work and community service, Robert enjoyed spending time pursuing activities that brought him joy. He had a passion for gardening and took great pleasure in tending to his plants and flowers. Fishing was another activity that brought Robert immense happiness, especially when he could partake in Canadian fishing trips with his brother Bill.

One destination close to Bob’s heart was Ocean City. Over the years, he became enamored with this coastal town and eventually acquired property there.

Bob is survived by his brother, Joseph Cleary, of Ridgefield, Connecticutt.; and nephew Joseph Cleary Jr., of Buffalo, N.Y.

In addition to his parents, Bob was preceded in death by his wife, Carol (Papagna) Cleary; son Michael Cleary; and brother William J. Cleary Jr.

Calling hours will be held from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, at St. Edward Church, 240 Tod Lane, Youngstown, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Lunch will be served in the church’s Assembly Room after the service. Interment will be in Calvary Cemetery.

Arrangements are by HigginsReardon Funeral Homes, Austintown Chapel.

$1,445.

Floor Reel qualifies lone WMO billfish

By Hunter Hine Staff Writer

(Aug. 18, 2023) Although John Ols was the man to reel in the 640.5-pound blue marlin that won a world record single fish payout in the White Marlin Open last week, he insists that catch was a team effort.

“It’s the boat, not the angler. It’s the boat and the crew and everybody else that got the boat together … without a great captain and a great mate, none of this would’ve been possible,” Ols said.

“I might have been the one on the reel, but it’s not the story. The story is the boat, and the captain and the mate,” he added.

Ols landed the fish aboard the Floor Reel on Friday to earn him and his team $6,235,436 in prize money. Ols has fished in the Open off and on since around 2005, and won in the heaviest tuna category in 2006.

But this year, Ols had a new boat and a new crew that included “one of the top mates in Ocean City,” Rob Belcher, and Capt. Dave “Big Wave” Warren.

Ols bought Floor Reel from Spencer Yachts in Wanchese, North Carolina, on March 1. It was built around 2015, according to Ols, who added it was the last boat by Wanchese custom builder Buddy Cannady, before he died.

After some refurbishing, the vessel hit the water around early June. Gregory Poole Marina, also in Wanchese, rebuilt the motors.

The boat is named for Ols’ line of work: hardwood, vinyl, ceramic and carpeted floors. He is vice president of Stonemark Flooring, located in Monrovia and Gambrills, Maryland.

Once Ols got the boat to Ocean City, he hired Belcher and secured Warren for a week from his work in Mexico. The group was joined by anglers Chet Rohrbach, Floyd Leavell, Jim Mckeever, Joseph Thurlow, Joseph Zimmer and Luke Mitchell.

For their first two fishing days, Monday and Wednesday, the crew had no releases and no catches to make the leaderboard.

“We caught a couple dolphin, but nothing to go to the scales with,” Ols said. “That was it.”

Like many other teams, Floor Reel declared lay days for Tuesday and Thursday.

On Friday, the final day of the tournament, the team had one last chance to enter a fish.

Around noon, the Floor Reel was moving south by Poor Man’s Canyon following the direction given in a report of ocean conditions.

Along the way, Warren spotted something in the water and dropped the lines back in. Around 1:15 p.m., they hooked the blue.

It had been decided Monday that if something took the line, Ols would take the chair.

“All I have to do is turn the crank over,” he said. “The captain did all the driving. He did. He drove in circles, he drove chasing it backwards, he went forwards, so the guy up on the top of it had to do all the controlling.

“If it wasn’t for him, we would never have a chance of weighing that fish,” Ols said.

Throughout the fight, the marlin never breached, Ols said. No one saw it until it was beside the boat, which happened four or five times before the blue had been worn down enough to land.

The team gaffed the fish and dragged it through tuna doors on the stern at 3:02 p.m. It was the biggest marlin Ols had ever caught.

Floor Reel turned back to the scales at 3:15 p.m., reached the inlet by about 5:20 p.m., and eventually docked after waiting behind a long line of boats.

“I guess you could say it was great,” Ols said. “Friends and family got on the boat with everybody else and it’s emotional. It definitely is. Definitely trying to stay low key because it’s not over till it’s over. It’s an experience. The crowd was loud. They lit up.”

Conveniently, Ols, who lives in Laytonsville, Maryland, but also has a house in the Harbour Island community, had a quick trip home after leaving the 14th Street marina.

On Saturday, Ols got the call to take a polygraph test, a uniquely good sign at the White Marlin Open.

A Berlin resident was still smoking the marlin filets for Ols and the Floor Reel team as of Thurs-

Two new WMO prize records set at 50th

By Hunter Hine Staff Writer

(Aug. 18, 2023) Although the 50th annual White Marlin Open went without a qualifier for its namesake species, the offshore fishing event set two tournament and world records for total and single-boat payout.

“The only glitch was there was no (qualifying) white marlin caught, but everything else was fantastic. The weather was a little bit bumpy, but overall, it worked out tremendously,” said Jim Motsko, founder and co-director of the Open.

Organizers distributed $10,509,679 to the winners, beating the previous tournament record of $9.2 million in 2021.

The record-breaking single-boat payout was $6,235,436 — more than half the total overall prize