Dr. Denis Morin Dedicates 36 “ Years to Haralson County Residents
T
he legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example," said Benjamin Disraeli. Family physician, Dr. Denis Morin is most certainly a man whose name and legacy will remain in the hearts of West Georgia residents for many years to come. French Canadians by birth, Dr. Morin and his wife, Louise, along with their four boys, Alexandre, Guillaume, Charles and Marc moved from Quebec, Canada to the tiny town of Buchanan, Ga., in 1983. From the moment he arrived, Dr. Morin has been a valued member of the Haralson County community and has undoubtedly changed countless lives for the better.
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mayor for a time and a councilman. "My father did not talk much," he shares. "My mother was more gregarious. She would talk more. She would not spank, because we did not spank much, but she would raise her voice. Instead of spanking she would always raise her voice more than my father – my father would not do that – but my mother was the disciplinarian. I take more after my mother from that because I was the disciplinarian with our boys. Louise is very patient, so she never argued or raised her voice, but me, I had to with the four boys." Deeply religious in the Roman Catholic faith, Dr. Morin's family attended Mass each Sunday at their church. His mother's brother was a friar who lived in the Vatican and was very close to the Pope, and his mother's sister was a Catholic nun who was very involved in the Canadian nun community. On his father's side of the family, having a son go into the priesthood was held in the highest regard. One going into medicine was valued next in the family. "Most of the family at that time had a priest," he explains. "If not a priest, then a doctor was the second best. Also, a notary was good. It’s a little different from here – it’s like a lawyer but not being a lawyer – just to be somebody who would do deeds and contracts and help people understand each other. For the girls, it was becoming a nun and things like that."
Born in Quebec, Dr. Morin was the fifth of six children that included one older brother, three older sisters and one younger sister. He was an extroverted child who loved to play, tease and aggravate his siblings. He participated in all of the normal activities that many young boys enjoy, such as bicycling, skiing, playing hockey, tennis and other sports. His five siblings are all married with children and still live in Quebec, but he maintains a very close relationship with them. They stay in touch through frequent phone calls and visits when they are able. "I was very active when I was a child," he says. "I liked to move around. I did not like to read, really Pursuing Medicine and I did not really like school – but I knew I needed There were three types of courses in the it. I wanted to be a physician because my brother was a physician, many of my cousins were physicians secondary schools in Quebec: general, scientific and classical. Students could not go into medicine and they liked it. So, I wanted to be like them but or become a lawyer if I never really wanted they did not attend the to pay too much classical course, and attention to studying." a test was required to His father worked get into the program. very hard to support Young Denis knew their family of eight. what his career path The owner of a general would be at the age store, he would begin of 13 or 14 and made work at 6 a.m. and plans with those goals would usually come in mind. home at 9 or 10 in the "If you did the evenings. He was also classical, you could a postmaster and was Dr. Denis Morin, right, is a charming, mischievious and playful extrovert choose pretty much involved in municipal who is loved by his staff and patients alike. Foreground: Tina Tucker. everything, so this is politics, serving as Background: Addie Atcheson.
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