William “Billy” Tower Jr. and Bernice “Bunny” Clark Tower

William “Billy” Tower Jr. and Bernice “Bunny” Clark Tower built a life and a family around Ogunquit’s Perkins Cove. Billy, born in Boston, served in the U.S. Coast Guard before becoming a fisherman, working from Ogunquit and fishing the Maine coast. Bunny, born Bernice Clark in Medway, Maine, was his wife, partner, and the steady center of the family they raised together.

In 1960, Billy bought a small Perkins Cove property from Leon and Lillian Perkins. The building had been a shop called the Brush & Needle; Billy and Bunny transformed it into Barnacle Billy’s, which opened in 1961. What began as a small lobster restaurant quickly became an Ogunquit landmark, known for boiled lobster, seafood, rum punch, and the warm hospitality that brought Billy to every table. In 1989, the family added Barnacle Billy’s Etc. next door.

Billy and Bunny’s four children—William R. Tower III (Tim), Courtland Clark Tower (Court), Margaret A. Tower (Meg), and Catherine J. Tower Koppstein (Cathy)—grew up working in the restaurant, and later generations carried the family enterprise forward. Billy treated first-time visitors, regulars, employees, presidents, and celebrities with the same personal attention. After Billy died at his Ogunquit home on July 16, 2013, Bunny remained part of the family story until her death at home on November 30, 2022. Together, they left a legacy inseparable from Perkins Cove and from the enduring identity of Ogunquit.