Maurice "Lee" LeMaster

Maurice (Lee) LeMaster, 89 years old, formerly of Mt. Pleasant, IA, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family at the Windmill Manor Care Facility in Coralville, Iowa on May 23, 2013. A memorial service will be held at Olson - Powell Memorial Chapel in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa on Tuesday, May 28th at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice Compassus of Cedar Rapids, who took loving care of Lee during his final months, or to a charity of the donor's choice. Maurice Vyrl LeMaster was born in Bushnell, Illinois on September 1, 1923. "Lee" was a member of the US Navy for 47 years, including 6 years of active duty during World War II. He spent time on a minesweeper in Panama, Japan and throughout the South Pacific. He spent one year in New Zealand where he met his future wife, Doris (Dot) McKenzie. In fact, they met in a skating rink in 1943 where Lee always said that he "fell for" Dot; they were united in holy matrimony 4 years later in Brooklyn, New York. Lee retired as Assistant Police Chief of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa after 25 years of service and was a member of both the Masonic Lodge and the American Legion for over 50 years. He was also an avid photographer, raised and released thousands of Monarch butterflies and worked for Arnold DeJaynes in Mt. Pleasant as a part-time jeweler. A man of many talents, besides owning and operating a gun store for many years, Lee was an excellent woodworker, and made a wide variety of small unique clocks that he sold at craft shows, He loved making kaleidoscopes out of everything from pens to lipstick tubes. One of his true joys was riding his Harley both alone and with friends, throughout the United States and Canada. Lee is survived by his wife Dot; his son Gary and wife Genevieve (Ginny); 6 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; two brothers and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister and a brother who died in infancy.