Raymond Vincent Morin

Our father, Raymond Vincent Morin passed away peacefully in his own home on Monday October 23, 2017 with all four daughters and 2 granddaughters sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner and talking and laughing.   On this day both of his sons also visited.  Dad picked his moment knowing that his children will be ok.

Ray was born on November 25, 1938 in Eagle Lake, Maine, a small town up near the Canadian border.  He was the second child and the only son of six to his parents Ethel Raymond Morin and Frank Morin.  As a very young child, the family moved to Brunswick where Ray attended Brunswick schools.  During this time he met his childhood friend Vernon Roy, to who to this day are still friends.

At the tender age of 17, Dad decided that it was time to step out on his own.  He decided to quit high school, which later as an adult he regretted. When his mother asked what his plan was, he told her that he was looking for a job.  She replied that was a good idea as the rent was due. This was a surprise to him as he never paid rent before!  Mamae kindly replied that either you get a job or you need to go back to school.  Instead, Dad and a friend decided to enlist into the Navy, he had just turned 18 years old. He thought this would allow him to travel the world.  Instead, except for a short stint on the carrier ship, the USS Tarawa, he did get to Argentina.  That was the extent of his world travels.  The remainder of his time was spent in Rhode Island and Pensacola Florida.   To this day, Dad never liked Florida much!

A couple of years passed and on July 4th, 1959 while on leave Dad and a few of his buddies decided to head to Old Orchard Beach for a night of partying and picking up girls.  This was the night he met our mother Ernestine.  Mom, at a table with a number of her girlfriends told me that she only danced with him because all the others told him no.  She felt sorry for him.  The rest is history.  They were engaged the following October and married on April 23, 1960, a marriage that lasted for 50 years.  They bought their one and only home in the North Deering area and raised us 6 kids.   And to this day, some of the 14 original families of Jersey Ave still keep in touch!

Over the years dad always worked, sometimes 2 jobs to help make ends meet.  In the 60's he worked at Amatec in South Portland, in the 1970's he worked at Nelson & Small.  It was during this time that he decided to go back to school.  He ended up getting his GED from Portland High School. In between he ran his own business for a short time selling automotive products around the state. For one summer in 1977 he even sold Bismark Pastries out of a van with his daughter Teresa.  In 1979 he went to work for the State of Maine at the Windham Correctional Facility as a Corrections Officer.  It was a job that he loved especially while he ran the pre-release program.  Not too long ago dad and I were talking and he made a comment that back then, he wished that he could have provided more for us kids.  I told him that it didn't matter, we kids never knew or felt that we didn't have.  We always had what we needed and then some.  In 1999 Dad decided to retire from the state and he took on 2 part time jobs just to stay busy.  One was with Elton John Courier Service which later became General Courier.  The other was with Avis Rental Care at the Portland Jetport moving cars.  The only time I can recall him not working was in 2010/2011 when he took the time to stay at home and care for our mother until her passing.

Shortly after mom passed, dad decided he wanted to take a little road trip.  He wanted to head down to Florida, look up a few old friends, check out the bases he had been stationed at and stop to see a few family members along the way. When he left he said he'd be back in about a month. He was back in 2 weeks.  He had enough of the world traveling and went back to work!

Dad had very few passions, but he did love rabbit and deer hunting as well as fishing.  These passions he shared with his oldest son Dana.  Over the last couple of years Dana redesigned his own boat so that dad could sit and stand in it comfortably. He loved being out on the lake fishing.  He also loved the Boston Red Sox, NY Giants, New England Patriots and the Boston Celtics.  He also enjoyed card night with the guys or scat with the family.

Ray was pre-deceased by his loving wife Ernestine, his parents Ethel and Frank Morin and two sisters, Maxine Nolan and Beverly Seaford.  He leaves behind his daughters Teresa Morin and Heather Morin of Portland with whom he resided with; son Dana Morin and wife Kathy Johnson of Standish; daughter Patricia (Patty) Bailey and husband Michael of Portland; son Michael Morin and wife Peggy of Portland; daughter Nicoli (Nikki) Davenport and husband Morgan of Windham; grandchildren Nicholas Bailey& wife Mandi, Christopher Bailey, Lindsay Morin, Cassie Taylor Sophia Morin, Thomas and Patrick Davenport; sister Claudia Garland and husband William of Virginia; sister Cheryl Martin of Portland; sister Trisha Morin and husband Steve of Gorham; and many nieces and nephews.

The Morin Family would like to thank the staff of Hospice of Southern Maine, especially Jennifer, Ashley and Addie who spent the time to care for not just our father, but the rest of the family as well. 

We also want to give a special thankyou to Cassie for caring for her Grandfather (Barpee) with love and dignity and respect.  He would be so proud of you!

Visitation will be held from 1:00 – 3:00 PM followed by a memorial service at 3:00 PM on Monday, October 30, 2017 at A.T. Hutchins Funeral Home, 660 Brighton Ave., Portland.

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