Forty years ago, Angela Sanfilippo put a dream on hold.
This Saturday, Sanfilippo, who has put family and the local fishing community first since she graduated from Gloucester High School in 1969, will receive a honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Salem State College.
"I always thought that, when my family was grown, I would go back to school and get a degree," said Sanfilippo, the 32-year president of the Gloucester Fishermen's Wives Association. "But between my family and the fishing industry being in a crisis mode, there has been no time."
Now, receiving the degree in honor of her dedication to the Massachusetts fishing community and her efforts to protect the ocean environment, Sanfilippo said, "my dream has come true."
Sanfilippo, whose family were fishermen in either Gloucester or her native village on Sicily, Italy, first became personally involved in the industry in August 1977.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.