Morris Wellington Poirier Jr. , 80, rural Minot and formerly of Kenmare passed away from leukemia on Wednesday, Sept. 2010, in his home surrounded by his loving family.

Morris was born on October 1, 1929 in Alexander, ND to Morris Sr. and Hilda (Johnson) Poirier. He was reared and educated in Kenmare, ND and graduated from Kenmare High School. As a young adult he was employed by the U.S. Geological Survey for 1.5 years before entering the U.S. Army in May of 1951. He served during the Korean Conflict until his honorable discharge in May of 1953. In addition, he served his country as a member of the Army Reserve until December of 1956. He returned to North Dakota and married Hazel Cron on September 3, 1950 in Lignite, ND. They made their home in San Jose, California where he was employed at Food Machinery and Chemical Corp (FMC) as a Process Compliance Tender. They moved to Great Falls MT in 1973 where Morris owned and operated a Culligan Softwater franchise and a Picadilly Ice Cream shop. They returned to California where he returned to work at FMC until his retirement in 1988. Hazel died on April 22, 1987. Morris continued to reside in California until 1995 when he moved to Minot. Morris married Mardell Anderson Bogar on October 27, 1995 in Minot. They made their home on the Reeve Flying S Ranch in rural Minot where they were the caretakers of the grounds. In addition, they assisted in caring for Erica Reeve and were very good friends of Dr. Howard Reeve.

Morris was a member of Bread of Life Lutheran Church Minot, Moose Lodge, the VFW and American Legion.

He especially enjoyed dancing, golfing, traveling, reading, camping and playing pool.

Morris' survivors include his wife Mardell, children: Brenda (Darrell) McNabb of Forest Grove OR, Barbara (Greg) Matte of Bowbells and Marian (Russell) Trapp of Oakdale CA; stepchildren: Gordon Bogar Jr. of Minot, Cheryl (Donald) Doyle of Broomfield CO, Darlene (Calvin) Rehling of Cheyenne WY, Lana Bogar (Joel England) of Rugby and Terry (Kimber) Bogar of Indiana; fourteen grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren; sisters: Dorothy Evanger of Folsom CA and Dolores Fish of Sacramento CA; brother: Jack (Shelly) Poirier of Aberdeen SD and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Morris was preceded in death by his parents, first wife and infant brother Michael.

Funeral Service : Saturday, September 25, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. in Bread of Life Lutheran Church Minot.

Graveside Service : Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the Bowbells Community Cemetery.

Visitation : Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home Minot.