Lee Morin

Lee Morin of Lewiston, ME passed away peacefully on September 11th, 2024 after an illness. Lee’s second residence was truly Coburn Gore, in the Western Mountains of Maine, along the Chain of Ponds, where he spent as much time as he could enjoying his camp and his friends.

Lee was born on September 13th, 1942 to Ralph and Irene Morin of Biddeford, ME. Lee was the oldest of his siblings, Ron Morin, Lucille Paquette, Nel Morin, who predeceased him, Irene Martel and Don Morin. Lee is also survived by his two children, Nichelle Gardner and Steven Morin, two grandchildren, Beau Gardner and Sophie Gardner, and one great grandchild, Lily Gardner.

Lee Graduated from Thornton Academy in 1960 and joined the Air Force shortly afterward assuring that our U.S. planes were always at the ready. Lee then went on to work for years at Grossman’s, then many more years in management, at Sabre Yachts, and eventually ran his own businesses until retirement.

Lee loved the outdoors along with hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and ATVing. He enjoyed mentoring his youngest brother, Don, creating another hunting enthusiast, as there could never be too many! Lee would spend Novembers in upstate NY with old friends and for years, brought home bountiful amounts of venison and many tales.

Lee loved working his land, in the ‘back 40’, harvesting firewood, and it did not stop there. Wherever Lee was, one was sure to hear the undulance of a chainsaw, hard at work, chewing through downed trees, while working on trail up-keep, for local ATV clubs ‘upta’ camp.

‘Upta camp’ was one of Lee’s favorite places on earth: Natanis Point on the Chain of Ponds. Lee first discovered his heaven, here on earth, in the early 80s, through a fishing buddy. As years passed, Lee developed an ever-evolving family and community. Evening campfires brought the day’s bustling or relaxing, to a close, as friends settled into their canvas chairs watching the flames dance in the fire ring, enjoying the essence of what each other brought to their circle.

Lee was generous, especially in areas he was passionate about. He would use his side-by-side not only for recreation, but also, for firewood transport when ‘upta’ camp. If you were a friend of Lee, chances are, you would never need to worry about having enough firewood.

Lee also enjoyed organizing fishing excursions into Canada and Northern Maine with his friends. And again, if you were a friend of Lee, chances are, you were offered one of the beauties he caught or even still have one in your freezer. Whether being gifted blueberries from his own bushes or some random item that made him think of you, (like chewing gum, Sophie), Lee (Pepere), made you feel thought about, and loved.

Lee had devoted and wonderful friends in multiple areas of his life and he will be missed by them.

Suffice to say, there will be some heavy voids with Lee gone. He loved his children, grandchildren, great-granddaughter, and his wonderful groups of friends and family it is apparent through all of the kind gestures, especially as of late, that they sure loved him.

There is so much more to share and we invite those who knew him, and wish to gather together to do just that, to join us on Sunday, September 29th at 1:00 P.M. at Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Boyhood home in Raymond, ME located on 40 Hawthorne Street. Bring your sweet tooth as we plan to enjoy some of Lee’s favorite desserts.

Lee was a platelet donor and donated over 423 times. Donating platelets was something that meant a lot to him. Platelets and whole blood, ironically, were what gifted Lee with more time here with us, in the last few months. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating whole blood or platelets or donating to your local American Red Cross.