January 28, 2026
Claws, cause, and applause
Virginia Oliver, Maine 'Lobster Lady' who fished for nearly a century, has died
Fans salute Maine’s ‘Lobster Lady’—memes, tears, and a fight over work vs passion
TLDR: Maine’s famed “Lobster Lady,” Virginia Oliver, has died at 105 after nearly a century hauling traps. Commenters are split between celebrating her grit and style and debating whether her long career shows pure passion or the pressure to work into old age, with lobster memes pinching the thread.
The internet lit up after news that Virginia “Ginny” Oliver — Maine’s beloved “Lobster Lady” — died at 105, ending nearly a century on the water. Grief mixed with awe, with one top comment sighing, “It always seems it’s a fall that ends it,” wondering if she’d have hit a full 100 years at sea. Others crowned her a folk hero: “Rugged individualism. Rest in peace, Queen,” a rallying cry for grit, lipstick, and lobsters.
But the thread wasn’t all misty-eyed. A lively debate boiled over: is Oliver the poster child for pure passion, or a sign of Americans working well past retirement because life’s gotten pricey? That tension echoed the story itself, as she started trapping at eight, loved “being along the water,” and kept going until a fall at 103. Meanwhile, jokesters couldn’t resist: “Who else thought a 100-year-old lobster died?” set off meme waves and shell-fie puns.
Fans revisited her glam-at-sea legend — earrings and lipstick because “you never know who you are going to see” — while shout-outs rolled in from Mark Hamill and the Maine Lobster Festival. Call it a life lived loud: poagies for bait, the boat named Virginia, and lobster prices rising from 28 cents to $6.14 as her legend grew.
Key Points
- •Virginia “Ginny” Oliver, Maine’s “Lobster Lady,” died on January 21 at age 105.
- •She began lobstering at age eight and continued for nearly a century, fishing until a fall at age 103.
- •Governor Janet Mills and others paid tribute, with Mills calling her life “amazing.”
- •Oliver received broad recognition, including media features, a children’s book, and an honorary invitation to Cardiff Royal Naval Association.
- •Lobster prices rose from $0.28 per pound when she started to $6.14 over her lifetime, reflecting industry changes.