Remembering Queen Mary Commodore Everette Hoard
The longtime ship historian and ambassador, who former Mayor Robert Garcia said represented the famous vessel in human form, has died, Queen Mary officials said on social media.
Queen Mary Commodore Everette Hoard has died, ship officials said Friday.
Part vessel historian, part social ambassador, Hoard had worked on the historic ship in some capacity since 1981, working his way up to Commodore in 2009. The job included officiating weddings, entertaining VIPs, talking with the media, giving lectures and ship tours, historical research, and being the face of one of the most famous vessels built in the 20th century.
In 2022, then-Mayor Robert Garcia said Hoard “represents the Queen Mary in human form,” according to the Signal Tribune.
"We will miss his kind heart, his passion, and his unwavering devotion," Queen Mary Managing Director Steve Caloca said Friday in an Instagram post. "Commodore Everette Hoard is forever part of the Queen Mary's story, and his legacy will continue to shine as brightly as the ship he so dearly loved."
The exact day and circumstances of Hoard’s death were not immediately available.
Born in Alabama in the early 1960s, Hoard admitted to an OC Register reporter in 2014 that he'd never been to sea before stepping foot on the Queen Mary. He was 20 when he first experienced the ship, then took a job aboard soon after.
"I love the wood, the art, even the design of the hull itself and the way it’s riveted together," Hoard told the Register. "She’s an object of beauty and very much a ship with a soul."
Over the years he met multiple former captains of both the Queen Mary and its sister ship Queen Elizabeth, he said in this Palos Verdes Pulse article.
“They taught me that an ocean liner has three sides: port, starboard, and social!" he said. "I can’t take our passengers on an ocean voyage, but I can take them across the oceans of time on an unforgettable journey.”
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