OBITUARIES: NMHS Loses Three Valued Friends David Alan O'Neil, overseer of the National Maritime Historical Society, died of prostate cancer in July. Mr. O'Neil had served on the Executive Comm ittee and was the Society's Development Chair. In 2003 he received the Society's Founder's Sheet Anchor Award for his dedicated work and outreach to other organizations. Mr. O 'Neil, a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point, New York, was Alumnus of the Year in 1997-98 and received the Academy's Admiral Eugene Morin Award, Admiral McCready Award, and Honorary Doctorate of Science. In 1973 he founded Seaworrhy Systems, Inc. David O ' Neil was an active leader in many of the country's professional maritime organizations. He served as president of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and was awarded their Admiral Land Medal. He was honored by the American Merchant Marine Museum, where he had been Foundation Board Chairman, and the Connecticut River Museum, where he had been a trustee, and India House, where he had served as governor. Extrapolation, the 52-foor schooner he designed and built in his backyard in Essex, Connecticut, was launched just weeks before Mr. O'Neil died. He was able to sail her once with his family and friends. -Burchenal Green
F. Briggs Dalzell, former chairman and a long-time trustee of the Society, died in June in Southampton, New York. Mr. Dalzell was chairman between 1982-85 , when the Society reached the 10,000 membership mark, and he presided over a major restoration effort on Wavertree. Mr. Dalzell was president of the Dalzell Towing Company of New York for many years . In addition to his service to the National Maritime Historical Society, he served on the boards of numerous maritime related charities including: The Seamen's Church Insrimre of New York and New Jersey, South Street Seaport Museum, the American Seaman's Friend Society, and the New York Stare Maritime College at Forr Schuyler. H e was a member of the New York Yacht Club from 1947 umil his death. He served on the Yacht Club's race committee for many years and was co-manager of the second Intrepid and Courageous 12-meter syndicates that successfully defended the America's Cup. -Marshall Streibert
Edward Galland Zelinsky, vice chairman of NMHS , died of pancreatic cancer in September. He was an ardem maritime history emhusiast and a great ambassador for the cause of ship preservation , receiving the Society's Distinguished Service Award in 1995. He worked to bring the barque Vicar of Bray, the only ship still exram that is known to have called at San Francisco in 1849, back to that city from the Falkland Islands. He was active in the restoration of Balcfutha in 1954 and the lumber steam schoo ner Wapoma during the last decade. Mr. Zelinsky was a trustee of the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association and received a posthumous award from them in October. In 1997, the spring he hosted an NMHS Board ofTrustees meeting aboard the Wapama, the Blue and Gold Fleet christened a ferryboat Zelinsky in his honor. Mr. Zelinsky had been a vice president of the World Ship Trust since 1989. In addition, he was owner of the Musee Mecanique in San Francisco, one of the largest private collections of coinoperated mechanical amusemem devices in the world. He and his wife Laleh founded the Tiberon Children's Film Festival which benefited the pediatric unit of Marin General Hospital. He was also founder of the Museum of the City of San Francisco. -BG
SEA HISTORY 109, WINTER 2004-2005
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