Jock West, an icon in the marine industry, passed away at 83 peacefully, on June 17, 2026 at his home in Portsmouth, short of providing a long list of ailments, Jock’s physical challenges are certainly a warning against the dangers of smoking!
Jock had a big family that included Chris, his wife of 58 years. Scot and his wife Lynda. Tucker, and his wife LeAnne, and of course his favorite daughter Kara and her husband Rick. He also leaves a brood of 8 grandchildren from oldest to youngest: Hannah, Chloe, Ella, Parker, Logan, Ben, Luke and Mia. Jock also leaves his sister Laurie and was predeceased by his brother Scot.
Jock moved to Aquidneck Island in 1978 and has enjoyed life as an islander ever since. In addition to living in Portsmouth and enjoying Newport, Jock loved spending time in Truro on the outer Cape.
He had a long a varied career mostly in the boat business with a focus on advertising and event promotions. He was especially proud of his work at Cruising World and his time working at the Newport Yachting Center including helping relaunch the Newport International Boat Shows in the early 1980s. Of all the jobs he held, his favorite was being a Grandfather.
Jock was a renaissance man who loved his hobbies. He was an avid sailor in his early years and later in life he was an early adopter of flying drones and taking aerial photos. He loved collecting models as well as finding and refinishing old boxes and then selling them on Etsy.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Jock’s memory can be made to Sail Newport, (sailnewport.org) 72 Fort Adams Drive, Newport, RI 02840 or the Potter League for Animals, (potterleague.org) 87 Oliphant Lane, Middletown, RI 02842
