It is a good thing in life to be an accomplished seaman, but also a cranky baby whisperer.

But that was what Charles “Corky” Sherman was, among other admirable and honorable character traits.

(Although he would scoff at all that. No attention, please.)

“When we came home with our babies, he always wanted to hold them,” said daughter Cailin Kaller. “And he wouldn’t say anything to them, they just got quiet and content,” said his wife Stephanie Sherman, office manager of the Davis Park Ferry Co.

Corky Sherman, an owner of Davis Park Ferry Co. with his brother Matt, a family business that dates back to 1947, passed away Aug. 15. He was 71.

By all accounts, Sherman was humble, introspective, community-minded and a kind mentor to ferry staffers and captains. (Some young workers had to show him their report cards.) “He was a second dad to a lot of them,” said his daughter Amelia Kummer.)

“Everyone wanted a job at the ferry growing up,” said Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce executive director David Kennedy. “If you got one, you hit the lottery.”

Corky’s last trip on the ferry was actually during Tropical Storm Isaias, said Kummer. “One of the captains asked him to be there for moral support and he came.”

Once when there was fog, his presence was requested and the captain apologized for asking him along.

His answer (paraphrased): “Are you kidding? I love to be out on the water.”

The last few years he couldn’t captain because of health problems, but his presence was pretty much daily “He oversaw the boats, inspected them if they were clean enough, checked if the parts were working right,” said Stephanie Sherman.

He loved his stops at Karl Ehmer of Patchogue. That was daily. And also Del Fiore’s. You could catch up on the latest village events or incidents sometimes before they were even a thought process.

He was also a firefighter for the Davis Park Fire Dept. and made 1^st Asst. Chief, then was a lifetime member.

Boy, was he a lover of B Movies like “Rosalie Goes Shopping,” “Earth Girls Are Easy,” and “Drop Dead Fred,” reported Kummer. “Since we were kids, he rented the worst movies in the store.”

There was no time for fundraisers, said his wife, but he did help others whether it was driving them back home from the ferry if they were stuck for a ride, or giving a passenger who missed the last ferry to Davis Park a ride in the family speedboat, (the woman named her dog Corky for that one). Or giving money to panhandlers. He was always there for his daughters, including Emily Cordell, and grandchildren.

 Probably no one will never know the depth of his giving.

Stephanie Sherman said she and Corky were married 45 years, but they met 50 years ago. She was 16. “He just had a demeanor about him,” she said of the attraction. The first time they met, he fought with her about putting a boat in the water.

That didn’t scare her off. “I was hanging around the ferry office because of him,” she admitted.

Stephanie Sherman said she had received a letter from a former staffer he aided when he lost his way; Corky showed him how to sheetrock among other things, and now that young man is a captain.

Brother Matt Sherman said they both started working on the ferries when they were 13 and then took over the business after their father, Fred Sr. died in 1982. Corky started out as a deckhand, then became captain.

“He was a brother, a friend, one of the best people I ever worked with,” said Matt Sherman. “We worked well together and got some amazing things done. He spent his whole lifetime on the bay.”

Corky Sherman was cremated. Stephanie Sherman said a remembrance ceremony will take place the end of September.

Donations for a scholarship via the Patchogue Rotary are being arranged at the present time.

Sherman is survived by his wife Stephanie, his daughters Cailin Kaller, Amelia Kummer and Emily Cordell, their spouses and four grandchildren, and his brother Matt Sherman. 

Photo: Charles “Corky” Sherman of the Davis Park Ferry Co. passed on Saturday. In the photo (left to right) are James Kummer, Jack Kummer, Corky Sherman, Emmy Kummer, Sean Kummer and Kaythe Kaller. Courtesy photo