Norman W. "Red" Truax

Cpt. Norman W. "Red" Truax, long-time Biloxi boat captain, died Saturday, March 18, aged 83. Born in Westville, Ill, "Red" as he was usually known, began working in the coal mines at the age of thirteen, after his mother's death. He joined the Marines in 1940, and was in the Guadalcanal campaign, where he was wounded and sent home to train recruits as a drill sergeant in San Diego. After a further service injury he was medically discharged in 1945. He worked as a truck driver, a machinist, and telephone lineman before fulfilling a long-time dream by moving to Biloxi and buying a charter boat from Cpt. H.L. "Mac" McQueen, who was building a new boat. This boat was sunk in Camille and Red bought another boat in Florida, a 40 foot tournament sport fisherman named the Big Red. A member of the Charter Boat Assn., between the two boats he took people fishing out of the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor for some twenty years. He specialized in King Mackerel, although his customers also caught every kind of Gulf fish. His wife, Jane, was also a licensed captain and taught at Vancleave and Biloxi High Schools and at the Jefferson Davis Jr. College. In the winter months from 1965 to 1974 Red, who held a 100 ton passenger license, worked crew boats and supply boats to the oil rigs in Louisiana and Texas for Offshore Logistics. He also fished his own boat out of Port Salerno, FL for one winter. He was preparing to move his business to Florida when he suffered a severe heart attack in 1985, retired, and moved to Florida. The Truaxes moved back to the Coast in 2004, settling in Vancleave. "Red" is survived by his wife of 48 years, Jane; his son Sherman Truax of St. Louis; daughters Shela Cygnor, of Virginia, and Edith Drongesen, of Arkansas; five grandchildren: Nessa Cygnor, Echo Miller, David Drongesen, Stephen Drongesen, John Drongesen; and nine great-grandchildren: Brandon Miller and Brittney Moore of Arkansas; Alicia, David, Matthew, Andrew and Mandy Drongesen of Las Vegas; Robert Croisar of Montana, and Ray Croisar of Japan; and one great-great grandson Jacob Moore of Arkansas. Services will be Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home in Ocean Springs at 3:00 pm. Friends may visit one hour prior to the service.