The URI Marine Affairs community mourns the loss of one of its esteemed alumnae, Kenelm Winslow “Ken” Coons, who passed away on February 3, 2017. Ken was born July 5, 1931, in Boston, MA, son of the late Quentin L. and Persis (Wallace) Coons. In addition to his wife of almost 20 years, Deborah (Bowerman) Coons, he leaves three sons and a daughter, two stepdaughters, and nine grandchildren.
After graduation from Harvard College (A.B. ’53) Ken served for two years of active duty in West Germany as an Army Signal Corps sergeant. He then began his professional career, embarking on a series of packaged goods marketing positions, including Vicks Vaporub, Lever Brothers’ Dove products, and General Foods’ Cool Whip desserts, which he helped introduce.
Moving to the mid-Atlantic, he continued his career with companies that included Iron Mountain and Doxsee Foods. It was the marketing of Doxsee clam products that introduced him to the seafood industry, which led him to Rhode Island where he worked for Wickford Shellfish/Prelude Corp. In 1978, after earning a Master’s in Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island, he was named Executive Director of the recently formed Rhode Island Seafood Council. Two years later he helped found and was named the first (and only) Executive Director of the New England Fisheries Development Association (NEFDA) in Boston, a regional trade association for the seafood industry–a position he held for two decades.
During his tenure, NEFDA partnered with the Canadian Consulate in Boston to found the Boston Seafood Show. NEFDA also ran a popular Fish School for a national audience aimed at educating newcomers in the industry. NEFDA was chosen by FDA and USDC to introduce the HACCP system of sanitation and, with Saltonstall-Kennedy Funds, focused on promoting under-utilized species, utilization of fish waste, and programs to enhance seafood quality. Other initiatives included developing a domestic market for Rhode Island-caught Loligo squid and establishing the hagfish fishery in Gloucester, MA. Ken was also appointed by the Secretary of Commerce to the National Fish and Seafood Promotion Council and was elected its first chairman. At that time he was also named Man of the Year by the National Fisheries Institute (NFI).
For many years, NEFDA published a weekly news service, Coons FishFacts, for the New England seafood industry. Ken was also a frequent spokesperson for the seafood industry in broadcast and print media. He closed out his career as Associate Editor of SeafoodNews.com, a widely read international online subscriber news service. Among his other industry-related activities, he co-authored a report to New England food banks on the condition of the New England seafood industry and how it might impact possible donations. He was a member of the National Press Club and maintained an active interest in international affairs and domestic politics as well as the food world. An avid sailor and accomplished cook, he introduced all of his family to his love of seafood and sailing.
He stayed connected with the URI Marine Affairs department throughout his career and was a popular and frequent guest lecturer in the Marine Affairs seminar series.
As a tribute to Ken at the time of his retirement from NEFDA his family established the Kenelm W. Coons Marine Affairs Scholarship at URI. Its purpose is to support individuals like himself who, mid-career, choose to work toward an advanced degree in the field. Those wishing to honor Ken are invited to contribute to the scholarship. Donations may be mailed to the URI Foundation, PO Box 1700, Kingston, RI 02881 (checks made payable to the Foundation with his scholarship name in the memo line) or submitted as secure gift online at URI Foundation.