Vigil planned tonight in Gloucester for fishermen who disappeared last weekend

By Zachary T. Sampson, Globe Correspondent

People will gather tonight at the Gloucester Fishermen’s Memorial to light candles in honor of two fishermen from Maine who disappeared last weekend in the waters off Massachusetts.

Angela Sanfilippo, president of The Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, said the vigil, which was organized by members of local churches and the Fishermen’s Wives Association, will take place at 5 p.m. at the memorial on Stacy Boulevard.

People hold out little hope now that the fishermen, Wally ­“Chubby” Gray, 26, and 50-year-old Wayne Young, both of Deer Isle, Maine will be found alive, she said. They disappeared after setting out to sea from Gloucester for a day trip Dec. 15 on Gray’s scallop boat, the Foxy Lady II. The Coast Guard suspended its search for the two men Wednesday, and an empty survival pod from the Foxy Lady II turned up in the Saugus River early last week.

Sanfilippo said she hopes the fishermen’s bodies will be found.

“When the bodies are recovered, you do put a closure to things,” she said.

The vigil is intended as a show of support for the men’s families, Sanfilippo said. She said she is not sure if relatives will attend the service.

“Our vigil is just to let them know that we care,” Sanfilippo said. “We’re thinking of them, we share their pain, and we wish we could do more.”

Gray has a girlfriend, and his cousin told the Globe last week that he has a 3-year-old son. The cousin said Young is married with three children.

“Everyone is going about their Christmas preparations and it’s a busy time of year, but these families have lost the most precious things -- sons, fathers,” said the Rev. Rona Tyndall, an organizer of the vigil.