Police officer, detective.
Born at Winnipeg on 7 May 1944 to Emerence Boulet (1923-2013) and Bertrand “Bert” Morin (1921-1973), his childhood summers were spent at Caribou Lake, Lake of the Woods, and later at a cottage at Pinawa. At age 19, he joined the United States Marine Corps, serving in San Diego, Hawaii, Japan, North Carolina, and Europe. He also spent 14 months in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
In September 1967, he joined the St. Boniface Police Department as a Constable and worked there for eight years in uniform until the amalgamation of the Greater Winnipeg police forces. He was then transferred to the Crime Division, whose offices were in the Public Safety Building, and promoted to Sergeant. From 1975 to 1987, he was chief of the Winnipeg Bomb Squad.
The last 15 years of his police career were spent in Homicide and Robbery, partnering with Dave Shipman. The pair, known as “Shipman and Morin,” became legendary inside and outside of police circles, and was credited with solving an estimated 100 homicides. Among the first and most infamous was the 1981 arrest and eventual murder conviction of fellow Winnipeg police patrol officers Jerry Stolar and Barry Nielsen. As a homicide detective, one of Morin’s strengths was his ability to put suspects at ease and act like a “father confessor” during interrogations. A newspaper article profiling the two men described Morin as “celebrated, outspoken and frequently controversial.” Defence counsel Herb Wolch said he was relieved when the pair was split up and moved out of homicide and robbery. He respected them, he said, but they were, in a sense, his adversaries, and he jokingly suggested they would be better off starring in a television series as a crime-stopping duo. A colleague agreed, saying, “These guys were charismatic, smooth talking and stylish coppers the likes of what you could only see on fantasy television shows.”
After his police career, he worked for 10 years as an investigator for Manitoba Public Insurance Special Investigations Unit. With his first wife, Judy, he had two children, and he went on to have one child with his second wife, Carol Lovberg Abbott. Following retirement, he enjoyed spending his winters in Texas with his wife, summers with his family at Pinawa, and golfing at the Pinawa Golf and Country Club.
He died at Winnipeg on 3 June 2012 and was buried in the St. Boniface Cemetery.
“Former cop was celebrated and controversial,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 June 2012.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 6 June 2012.
Obituary [Emerance Morin-Pelchat], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 June 2013.
Ronald N. Morin, FindAGrave.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 26 June 2026
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