E. Graužinis, a famous long-distance sailing captain, died after a serious illness

He was born on 11/06/1937, in the village of Katiniškės, Utena district. After graduating from Saldutiškis secondary school in 1956, he came to Klaipėda and entered the Klaipėda Maritime School, where the 1st Lithuanian pilot program was selected that year.

He studied in one group with such famous captains as Sigitas Šileris, Pranas Žaltauskas and others.

In 1959, he graduated from the Maritime School and started working at the Baltic fishing fleet base as the 4th coxswain of a medium fishing trawler. Because he was hardworking and dutiful, he quickly passed through all levels of navigators, and in 1965, while working at sea as a senior assistant captain, the ship’s captain suddenly fell ill in the middle of the voyage and was sent ashore, and E. Graužiniis was assigned the role of captain.

When after a couple of months they returned to the shore after catching a lot of fish, no one even doubted that E. Graužinis would be confirmed as the captain. However, at the meeting where the issue of confirmation as a captain was decided, the secretary of the party organization of the fleet objected to it, because he had received a complaint from the secretary of the primary party organization of the ship that E. Graužinis mocked the communists, so they did not confirm him as a captain that time and he worked as a senior assistant for another year , until he was finally confirmed as a captain in 1966.

From the very first voyages, the ships under his command constantly returned from voyages having caught the most fish in the whole of the Soviet Union at the time, so in 1970, the government at the time awarded him the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his good work performance, despite the fact that he never joined the Communist Party, and in 1975 – Order of Lenin.

Most likely, he would have been recognized as a hero of socialist labor, but due to family circumstances, he could no longer go to sea since 1977, he continued to work in the “Baltijos” fishermen collective as the head of the fleet department, for many years he was the chairman of the seamen’s school examination board.

You can say goodbye to the deceased tomorrow from 16:00 at the AMŽIAUS VARTAI funeral home, address Prestočio st. 7, Klaipėda, will be buried on Friday at the Lėbarta cemetery at 2 p.m.