Capt. Maurice "Mel" Lizotte
Master Mariner

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Maurice E. Lizotte, aged 84, died of pneumonia on Tuesday August 5th 2003, at Harbor Hospital Center, Baltimore, Maryland. He is buried in Maryland Veterans Cemetery in Crownsville.

Capt. Lizotte was born April 5, 1919, in Detroit, Michigan, where he was raised and graduated from high school.

Mel enlisted in the Navy before World War II, and served aboard a fleet oiler in the Pacific during the war years.

His ship refueled the carrier Lexington before the great engagement in the Coral Sea where she was sunk in 1942. Messages were sealed in canvas bags and dropped on the decks of nearby ships by airplane. As a souvenir, Mel kept the bag that had contained the last message from the Lexington.

On February 5th 1946, Mel was discharged with the rank of quartermaster 2nd class.

After the war, Mel joined the merchant marine. He was a member of the Intenational Order of Masters, Mates and Pilots, and had earned his captain's ticket from its Maritime Institute in Linthicum.

During his 45-year career he toured the world, sailing as a navigator aboard ships of U.S. Lines, Lykes Brothers, Waterman Steamship Co. and American President Lines. He retired in 1992.

A 25-year resident of Pasadena, he was an early supporter of Project Liberty Ship where he worked in the deck department, gave tours and helped organize the Liberty Ship photo collections.

Mel also volunteered in the photo archives at the Naval Institute Library in Annapolis, Maryland. He also worked in the history, reference and preservation departments, researching ships.

Mel enjoyed collecting nautical memorabilia and ships photographs.