Maimes

Obituary: Local hero David Maimes passed onto the next life this past Wednesday, January 11, 2016 just three months shy of his 28th birthday. Maimes, a Coastguard pilot of seven years was on a routine search and rescue mission off the coast of Boston, his residence. Replying to an urgent mayday by the "Pink Philly" Maimes and his crew of five set off into the night at approximately 2:05am. After nearly three hours of flying the crew spotted Captain Andy Rowlands' 32' Yacht. During the attempt to extract Rowlands off the deck a malfunction occurred in the rotor of the helicopter. In a valiant effort Maimes steered the helicopter away from the yacht as it came crashing into the freezing and storm ridden Atlantic. As the Pink Philly sunk Maimes swam to Rowlands and put him on the life raft with the rest of the crew. In a courageous effort Maimes kept all involved alive for four long days despite 35' seas and a broken fibula. Unfortuantly due to internal bleeding Maimes died just moments before pickup by longtime friend John Lewis. Minutes later Rowlands died as well due to a broken heart. Reportedly the last spoken words between the two had been, "Crew for life." Maimes left behind a wife of five years and a son who was due to be born in May of this year.On the note of his widowed wife Lewis said, "I'll keep her company, real good company."Maimes was often quoted as saying, "Get some," "See you in the next life," "Embrace the suck," or "If your gonna hit it, hit it hard" to get his helicopter crew pumped up. They are forever in debt to him and wish to give him their undying gratitude. A new Coastguard headquarters will be built in his honor.Childhood friend Brian Houghton had this to say about Maimes, "His beard was like none other. He was bold and relentless in his constant pursuit for a greater rush in life. He was a guys guy and all the ladies wanted him. He was my hero."