David W. Dutra, 70, of North Truro, died Thursday, June 2nd at Cape Cod Hospital after a brief battle with cancer. His loving wife of 45 years and his two sons were by his side.
David was born on the steps of Cape Cod Hospital in 1945. He grew up on Pearl Street in Provincetown, graduating from Provincetown Vocational High School in 1964. After a brief period working in auto body repair, he found his true calling at sea. After crewing on several vessels he became captain and owner of his first boat, ‘Wild flower’ in 1972. In 1982 David and his wife Judy became the proud owners of the ‘Richard and Arnold’, on which he fished and raised his family for the next 34 years. David was always ahead of his time, the first person to successfully grow sea scallops in Cape Cod Bay and the owner of a floating fisherman’s museum. David was immortalized in his wife’s book ‘Nautical Twilight’.
David left a lasting impression on everyone he met because of his unbreakable will power, ingenuity, common sense, kind heart and moral compass. David was a master story teller and had an endless supply of catch phrases. David was a well known and respected fisherman all over the Cape and Islands. He will be best remembered on the deck of the Richard and Arnold with a huge smile and a deck full of fish surrounding him.
He is survived by the love of his life, Judy Dutra, his son Jackson, and his wife Nicole, son David (Robert) Dutra, sister in law Susan Jahnig of Venice FL., Grandchildren Oliva, Alexander, and Ryan (Dutra) and David Seaverns as well as countless fisherman and friends. David is predeceased by his mother Juliana Diogo, his father David Souza, his stepfather Herman Dutra, and brothers David Souza and Robert Souza.
A celebration of David’s life is planned for Friday, June 10th from 12 to 3 pm at Montano’s Restaurant in North Truro.