Michael (Mike) Lynn Morin

Michael (Mike) Lynn Morin, age 59 died March 8, 2022, at Good Shepherd Home and Hospice House.

He was born on April 2, 1962, in Belleville, Kansas. He was the son of Robert (Bob) and Rose Morin and the third of four children.

After moving to Manhattan, KS Mike attended Seven Dolors grade school and graduated from Msgr. Luckey High School. During his time growing up in Manhattan, he spent time playing outside with neighborhood and high school friends, camping and boating on family vacations, and a lot of fishing…Mike loved to fish. He was active in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, reaching the rank of Eagle. Known for being one tough cookie, he was active in sports at Luckey High, playing football, basketball and running long distance in track.

After high school, he attended Kansas State University taking numerous classes. While Mike had a love for learning, his real passion for learning was with the outdoors. After choosing to leave Kansas State, Mike took to the backroads and highways. Though he travelled to the four corners of the US and everything in between, he seemed to particularly enjoy West Virginia. He would routinely travel to that area, reconnecting with acquaintances, finding handyman work to keep himself active, and doing what he could to help those around him. He especially enjoyed working with his hands, primarily doing framing and roofing construction in addition to odd jobs. In recounting his trips, it was evident that Mike had a big heart. No matter where he was, he would always help others in need. Mike, as they say, had a memory like a ‘steel trap’. He could describe his adventures in such incredible detail, referencing people, places, specific days and locations-even the highway numbers on his routes. Mike was an avid gardener as well, something he learned from his mother for sure. He returned to the Manhattan area later on, staying closer to home, due to his battle with lung cancer. While back in Manhattan, he would balance time between a few favorite camp sites at Tuttle Creek Lake with time at home with his parents. When out camping, it usually wouldn’t matter the time of year. He was very tough, able to endure all types of weather, and would rely on his training from scouts or his survival techniques from living on the road, to survive all types of conditions. One could be guaranteed that if you found his favorite camping areas, you would also find that he left it better than how he found it-be it through improved drainage and erosion control, or simply an improved nature area. He would talk fondly of the wildlife he encountered while at the lake, whether they had wings or legs…many he would see routinely over the course of a season (or one season to the next) and talk about how they grew and matured. When not at the lake, he found time to continue gardening, making sure to share the vegetables with friends and neighbors. He always enjoyed visiting with the neighbors, helping out those in Westbank Townhomes with watering, snow removal, and sharing food that he and Dad would smoke or grill.

Though battling his own health issues with cancer, he always found time to support and console his mom, who was dealing with cancer herself. He was an incredibly caring individual when it came to this support. Having gone through some rounds of cancer treatment himself, he was always helping his mother, knowing what she was going to go through, and how he could best help before, during and after treatment. He was not around family much in his adult years with all the travelling, but he was around when it mattered most, and for that, his family is eternally grateful.

Mike is preceded in death by his mother, Rose, of Manhattan. He is survived by his father, Bob, of Manhattan, siblings: Terry of Moscow, ID., Dale of Houston, TX., Julie Melchior of Lenexa, KS., and their family members.

Mass of the Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 16th, at Seven Dolors Catholic Church with Father Ryan McCandless as Celebrant. Graveside services will be held at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday at the St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Damar, Kansas, with Father Henry Saw Lone officiating.

The Family will receive friends from 6:30 to 7:30 P.M. Tuesday, March 15th, at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home. A Parish Vigil will be held at 7:30 P.M. Tuesday in the funeral home chapel.

Online condolences may be left for the family by clicking on "Share A Memory" on this page.

Memorial contributions can be made to Good Shepherd Home and Hospice or Seven Dolors Catholic Church. Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, Kansas 66502.