Lori Cogswell Philips with the memorial for the Chief Williams Saulis crew. c/o Lori Cogswell Philips. Facebook.
A memorial for six fishermen who lost their lives at sea.
The crew members of the Chief William Saulis have been remembered with a stone memorial in Delaps Cove
The fishing vessel sank off the coast of that area in December 2020.
Lori Cogswell Philips is the mother of crew member Aaron Cogswell and had the idea for the memorial.
“I wanted to do something. Five of them are buried together, I figured they should share a headstone together,” says Philips. “There were six on the crew so I made sure all six are there, that’s why there’s five blue shells. One for each person who didn’t come home.”
The only body recovered after the boat sank was crew member Mike Drake.
Philips is continuing her fight to receive her son’s Accidental Death Benefits, which are being denied because he did not have a spouse or children.
Aaron Cogswell
She says she has appealed the Workers Compensation Board decision to deny Aaron’s benefits and doesn’t want to see other single people discriminated against if they die on the job.
“The widows and the widowers did it back in the day to make sure they were covered when their spouse passed away. I’m hoping to see it happen for all the single people that happen to die on the job. They shouldn’t be dying in vain. There shouldn’t be a different price on your head.”
The board asked for more information and now Philips is waiting to hear back from them.
The stone memorializing the Chief William Saulis crew members can be found in the Delaps Cove Wilderness Trails, along the Bohaker trail.
c/o Lori Cogswell Philips. Facebook.
