January 22, 2016
After a valiant battle with cancer, Jane (Prescott) Morin, 74, of Englewood, FL and Laconia, NH, passed away on Friday, January 22, 2016 surrounded by loving friends and family members.
Born three days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jane grew up on the Heights in Concord, NH, the daughter of Benjamin Rodney Prescott and Diana (Morrell) Prescott, twin sister of the late Jean Prescott Knowlton, brother of Benjamin Prescott, and cousin to Ruby Chagnon Bartlett, Stanley Prescott, and others, nieces and nephews.
Jane graduated Concord High School in 1959, a proud member of the Fifty-Niners. Upon graduation, Jane enrolled in the Laconia School of Nursing, graduating in 1962, but not before cruising Roller Coaster Road in Meredith with her nursing school friends in the MG she “borrowed” from a former blind date who would eventually become her husband.
Robert H. Morin, Jane’s first husband, predeceased her in 2006. Together, Jane and Bob renovated a turn-of-the-century house in Loudon, NH, where each of them taught their children the importance of persistence, cooperation, hard work, and family. Rarely missing a school function, a sporting event, a scouting activity, a theatrical production, or a concert, Jane was a constant source of encouragement to her children.
Through her work as an operating room nurse, 4-H Spruce Pond Camp nurse, Preschool teacher at Twin Maples Pre-School in Loudon, nurse at Camp Fatima, and her twenty-one years as a school nurse for Concord School District in NH, Nurse Jane touched many lives, offering comfort and hope to those in her care.
Jane believed in lifelong learning, earning a bachelor's degree in sociology and psychology from New England College in 1986 while she worked full time as a school nurse and a mother of four active children. Following her example, each of her children obtained college degrees.
Whether Jane and Bob were giving basic nursing care, performing housekeeping chores, completing landscaping or shoveling tasks, or offering handy work for their neighbors, Jane and Bob were models of care and generosity in the neighborhood where they raised their family. Jane and Bob retired to Rotonda West, FL during winters.
Retired, Jane enjoyed golfing, walking, yard-saling, crafting, camping, boating, sewing, and reading. Whether at her home on Chebeague Island, ME, in Laconia, NH, or in Englewood, FL, Jane loved home-making. She enjoyed cooking, cleaning, decorating, and celebrating with friends.
In between her leisurely pursuits, when she finally let herself sit down, Jane loved watching her beloved Gators, Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics long before their play engendered passionate viewers. With her knowledge of sports and insight into players and coaches, Jane was no “Pink Hat.”
After the passing of Bob, Jane spent time developing new friendships, and in this spirit, she met her second husband, Anthony Katter of Laconia, NH. Together, the two of them travelled by car to the West, the Las Vegas area where they enjoyed visiting the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, The Bellagio, The Highroller, Zion National Park, San Diego Zoo, and the Grand Canyon. On their return trip to Florida, they visited cousins in Houston, Texas, where on a walk Jane met a venomous snake, the first of her life. Later, Tony and Jane stopped off in Biloxi, Mississippi where to her delight she won $100 at the slots while Tony lost $100 at the blackjack table.
Jane will be remembered for her loving devotion to her children R. Jeffrey Morin and his wife, Cindy, of Essex Junction, VT, Kathy Morin Simpson and her husband, Tim, of Littleton, MA, Diana Morin and her partner, Jeri Field, of Andover, MA, and John Morin of Somerville, MA. She will be remembered for her boundless love for her grandchildren, Emily and Andrew Morin of VT and Rachael and Kathryn Simpson of MA. She also leaves her sisters-in law Cecile Morin Wiley of Gilford, NH and Patricia Houghton Prescott of Concord, NH, her brother-in-law James Knowlton of Rotonda West, FL, cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Jane will be remembered for her love of animals. Over the years, she enjoyed the companionship of numerous cats and dogs, most notably poodles, which she loved with abandon.
Jane will be remembered for her quiet determination to succeed in all that she tried. Whether she was studying for a statistics course, earning a Florida boating license, sewing a wedding dress for a neighbor, knitting minion hats for children in the family, or switching from her beloved PC to a Mac, Jane strived to improve herself and her world. She will be dearly missed.
A memorial service will be held in the spring in New Hampshire.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be offered to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123 or Central New Hampshire VNA & Hospice, 780 North Main St., Laconia, NH 03246.