Robert Luther Morin

Robert Luther "Bob" Morin It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Robert Luther "Bob" Morin on Tuesday, March 25, 2008. Bob was born in Hagers-town, Maryland, on February 22, 1912, one of five children, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred L. Morin. He began his schooling in a two room school house with two teachers. Later he attended Hagerstown High School from which he graduated in 1930. Bob then attended the Uni-versity of Maryland where he majored in civil engineering. Following college, Bob went to work for the J.J. Newberry Company where he stayed until 1940, when he enlisted in the Army. In 1942, he was sent to the Army Medical Administrative Officer Candidate School from which he graduated with the rank of Second Lieutenant. He stayed on at the School and processed 44 classes through the school as Commander of Troops. Bob was assigned to the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. toward the end of World War II where he was responsible for all non-medical affairs. He often had to deal with parents of wounded or parents of amputees returning from the European Theater. Another of his duties was to greet the VIPs which he enjoyed immensely. Among many VIPs who came to Walter Reed, he recalls four most vividly: Walt Disney, General Mark Clark, General Dwight Eisenhower and Helen Keller. On many occasions, he stated the Helen Keller was perhaps the most memorable person he had ever met. During the war years, Bob married Betty Page Hunter in 1942. They where happily married for 57 years until her death on October 27, 1999. They had two sons, Robert Hunter and Thomas Page Morin, both of whom where born in Abilene, Texas. At the conclusion of the war, bob went back to work for J.J. Newberry in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1950, at the age of 38, Bob moved his family to Orange, Virginia, and opened a furniture store on the corner of Main Street and Railroad Avenue which was operated until 1980. In 2001, Bob, donated the building which housed the Orange Furniture Company to The Arts Center in Orange. During his years of running a business, Bob Morin was ever mindful that he was a part of the community and he had obligation to the community. Bob served on the Orange Town Council for 14 years and was Mayor of Orange during most of that time. He and Betty were active members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church where Bob served on the vestry as Junior and Senior Warden, as well as the church treasurer. Bob was president of the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and President of the Orange Retail Merchants Association. He was a member of the Lions Club, the Montpelier Club, and the Woodberry Forest Golf Club. In January 2008, he received the 60 year Monarch Milestone Chevron Award from the International Association of Lions Clubs. His last years since Betty' s Passing in 1999 were spent at his home on Landon Lane in Orange. Mr. Morin is survived by his son, Robert Hunter Morin; five grandchildren, Hunter Campbell Morin, Page Taylor Morin, Cary Stanzel Morin, Christina Elizabeth Morin and Maria Carter Morin. In lieu of flowers, donations would be greatly received at the following: Woodberry Forest School, 117 Woodberry Forest Station, Woodberry Forest, VA 22989, the Thomas Page Morin Scholarship or to the Arts Center in Orange, 129 East Main Street, Orange, VA 22960 in memory of Bob and Betty Page Hunter Morin. Funeral services were held 11 a.m. Saturday March 29, 2008, at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 119 Caroline Street in Orange, Virginia, followed by a reception at The Arts Center in Orange, 129 East Main Street, Orange, Virginia. A private interment was held 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 30, 2008, at the Woodland Cemetery in Ashland, Virginia. Preddy Funeral Home of Orange, Virginia, was in charge of arrangements.