Lakewood Machine Products Co.

Howard J. Morrin was a lifelong proponent of education, including higher education. A graduate of St. Joseph Catholic School in Erie, MI and Monroe Catholic Central (now St. Mary Catholic Central High School) in Monroe, MI, he also took several classes at MCCC. He learned to weld while serving in the United States Marine Corp and worked at Michigan Bell Telephone before joining Lakewood Marching Products Co. in 1978.

A wartime baby, born during World War II, Howard married Carolyn Sara in 1963 and were together for 52 years at the time of his passing in 2015. They raised five children together after which he actively supported Carolyn in her return to college at MCCC where she earned an associate degree and then a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. Nearly all of the couple’s five children and five grandchildren also attended MCCC at some time during their pursuit of higher education goals.

Lakewood Machine Products Co. has long sought to employ local welding talent and has often drawn upon MCCC students with an interest in manufacturing. During his career at Lakewood and as an instructor at MCCC, Howard often took men and women with little or no formal welding training and instructed them on not only the mechanics of welding, but the work ethic needed to excel in the workplace. Through the Howard J. Morrin Scholarship, Lakewood Machine Products Co. is able to assist in the formal development of talent in the welding industry.