Wife of skipper who drowned, Marty Ann Wooley, to honor husband

The wife of the skipper of a boat that sank off Dauphin Island over the Thanksgiving holiday said she plans to turn the vessel into a fishing reef to honor her late husband.

Marty Ann Wooley, whom the boat was named for, was married 27 years to Sam Wooley, 69, who died along with two others during a shrimping trip. Michael Slezak, 42, and his son, Hunter Slezak, 7, were also aboard the Mary Ann, which left Billy Goat Hole on Dauphin Island on Nov. 29 and were last seen shrimping in Pelican Bay, according to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.

The bodies of Wooley and Michael Slezak were found the next day, and the boat was recovered shortly afterward. Hunter Slezak, 7, is still missing.

Marty Ann Wooley said she would receive the Marty Ann after the U.S. Coast Guard’s investigation was finished and that she plans to turn it into a manmade reef. Wooley said the boat and fishing nets were found intact, but the cabin had popped off due to underwater pressure.

“He was full of life,” she said of her husband. “Anytime he could find to go shrimping, he did.”

She said the couple also enjoyed camping. She would sew, he fished, and they would enjoy the fruits of his labor for dinner.

Sometimes, Sam Wooley did his own sewing if the situation called for it.

“He sewed his net back together one time and went back out to the water,” his wife said.

After high school, Sam Wooley joined the U.S. Navy and, ironically, served as a rescue swimmer during the Vietnam War. Marty Ann Wooley emphasized her husband’s love for America and the bounty it offers outdoorsmen.

“He was a hunter, too,” she remembered. When they were young, he and his brother would hide in the bushes with guns. They were waiting for birds.”

She said her husband and a friend invented special cricket cages to keep 1,000 crickets alive for use as bait. Her husband also brought live crickets to the veterans clinic so they would not perish in the car.

Sam Wooley also loved to teach children how to fish.

“He always had handmade fishing poles ready for anyone interested in learning,” she said. “He lived by ‘teach a man to fish, and he will eat for life,’ and he wanted to share his experiences.”

Sam Wooley was buried in a family cemetery in Mississippi. The service included a military burial, with “Taps” ringing through the trees.

His famous cricket cages will be sold at Gone Country in Semmes this year, his wife said. Family friend Jake Bass has set up a GoFundMe account to assist with funeral costs. To contribute, visit the account.

Courtesy of Call News.