Joseph Cecire, who for many years chaired the SIU’s Board of Trustees, died Jan. 13 at New York University Hospital following complications from surgery. He was 81.“He was very conscientious and a great advocate for the U.S. Merchant Marine,” noted SIU President Michael Sacco.
“He was definitely a sailor’s sailor,” said SIU Executive Vice President John Fay. “Even though he sailed captain, he knew the needs of the guys in the fo’c’sle. That’s why he was such a great trustee. He had a lot of feeling for the seaman.”
Carolyn Gentile, counsel to the Seafarers Plans, knew Cecire from her earliest days working with the SIU. “He worked with us (through SIU-contracted companies) for many years. He was one of the nicest human beings and a real gentleman,” she recalled.
Tony Naccarato, an official with SIU-contracted Marine Transport C and himself a Seafarers trustee, knew Cecire for 30 years. “People trusted him—both management and the unions,” Naccarato stated. “That’s saying something. He was a natural at it and his word was good.
“What I remember about him is that he was a gentleman and he cared about the Seafarers,” he added. “He loved this business and was a tireless worker for the American Merchant Marine.”
Cecire graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and sailed as a captain with the American Maritime Officers, an affiliate of the Seafarers International Union of North America.
At different times, he later worked as a representative for companies including (respectively) Robin Lines, Moore-McCormack Lines, Seahawk Management and Bay Ship Management.
He became an alternate employer trustee in 1956 and a regular trustee in 1967. He was the head of trustees until retiring in mid-2000.
Cecire lived in Westport, Conn. He was buried next to his late wife, Sarah, in Rockland Cemetery in Madison, Conn.
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