Leo Paul Maurice, Sr.

Born in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi in 1926 to Paul Maurice and Victoria Cospelich Maurice, Leo Paul Maurice, Sr. found his heart in the Gulf waters.

In his young adulthood, Leo would serve in the US Navy, and later, found occupation as a plasterer, often building homes for the less fortunate. But his talents were not limited to the land – Leo would share his knowledge of fishing, boat building and net making with anyone, which was always done in his front yard. Though he was partially paralyzed due to an accident, Leo never limited his giving and passion for the fishing industry.

Sharing his talents with his children, together, they would build skiffs, hung trammel nets and later gill nets, some of which exceeded 900 ft in length. Two of his skiffs are featured in Ken Murphy’s photography books “My South Coast Home”.

In the later years of Leo’s fishing career, he located the operation on a friend’s property at the intersection of St. Charles Street and Beach Boulevard, setting his gill nets in the waters at the foot of St. Charles and checking them daily.

Not only did Leo support his nine children, but he would also support his community by donating fish to various churches and school organizations to be used in fundraising fish fries. As a master craftsman in carpentry, he not only built his own home, but those of others. He was a fervent supporter of the Gulf Coast’s Mardi Gras tradition and helped construct numerous parade floats.

Mr. Leo Paul Maurice, Sr. passed away in 1992, but his contributions to the Gulf Coast fishing industry will forever be remembered as he is recognized in the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum’s Heritage Hall of Fame.