Raymond T. "Ray" Maurin, 84, of 1323 Florence St., Ironwood, died Friday morning, March 7, 2008, in Ironwood. He was born Jan. 12, 1924, in Ironwood, son of the late Joseph P. and Mary (Severin) Maurin, raised in Ironwood, and graduated from Luther L. Wright High School in 1942. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Navy as a hospital corpsman in the South Pacific during World War II. Following his discharge at the end of the war he spent several years in veterans hospitals for medical reasons. He graduated from Flint Junior College in 1954 and worked at various radio stations in the country as a scriptwriter-announcer. He spent 20 years in Los Angeles, Calif. working in title and fire insurance while trying to sell his play scripts, returning to Ironwood where he became a charter member of the Ironwood Area Historical Society as Curator. He also became a founding member of the Gogebic Range Players. He enjoyed acting in and directing plays, and was one of the original members of the Ironwood Theatre Preservation Committee. Ray was a prize winning state and national playwright and wrote and directed three of his local historical plays at the historic Ironwood Theatre: Gogebic, An Iron Range That Was, The Pabst Mine Disaster, and Murder on Silver Street. He also directed over 30 other plays locally at Theatre North, The Chequamegon Theatre Association in Ashland, Wis., and for the Luther L. Wright High School, and graduated from Northland College in Ashland in 1973. Ray was a free-lance photographer/writer for the Ironwood Daily Globe, the former U.P. Sunday Times and the Iron County Miner. He wrote several unproduced screenplays and co-wrote the historic documentary videos, Murder on Silver Street and The Last Stagecoach Robber. He played a part in the horror film, "Children of the Night", and appeared in a cable CMTV (Country Music TV) production promoting the Hiawatha Statue in Ironwood. He also was the author of the book, U.P. Tragedy. Ray was chosen "1988 Citizen of the Year" by the Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce. In 1993 he was awarded the Charles Follo Award for Michigan and U.P. Historical Research. He never married, and enjoyed downhill skiing and golf. He was a lifetime member of Northland Chapter, Disabled American Veterans No. 66, a member of the Gogebic County Council of Veterans Affairs, and was chapter president of the Lake Superior Tri-County AARP No. 566. He was also a member of Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood. Surviving are nieces and nephews, Jo-Claren (Cliff) Woolever, Evansville, Wis., Theresa (Joe) Burkholder, Middleton, Wis., Larry (Lynn) Burt, Waukesha, Wis., Jim Burt, Norwalk, CT, and Jerry Jarvi, Plover, Wis.; a number of great nieces and nephews; cousins, Robert (Pat) Severin, Ironwood, Bernard (Doreen) Severin, Hammond, Wis., Rita (Don) Popko, Punta Gorda, Fla., Marian (Dave) Eplett, Ironwood Township, James Gregory, Ironwood, Joseph (Marie) Gregory, Texas, John (Kathleen) Gregory, Ishpeming, Margaret (Robert) Johnson, Onalaska, Wis., and Jerry Gregory, Detroit; a sister-in-law, Doris Maurin Brewster, Evansville; and a special friend, Carol Mukavtz, Ironwood. Besides his parents, Ray was preceded in death by brothers, Rudolph, Lawrence, Isadore and Joseph Jr.; and sisters Theresa and Frances in infancy and Gertrude Meyer. In accordance with Ray's wishes, cremation will take place. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, March 11, at 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, with the Rev. Darryl Pepin, celebrant. Rite of Committal will take place in the St. Joseph Family Room at the church, where full military rites will be accorded by the Ironwood American Legion Post 5 Honor Guard. Luncheon will follow in the parish hall. Spring inurnment will be in Riverside Cemetery, Ironwood. Relatives and friends may call in the St. Joseph Family Room at the church beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Ironwood Area Historical Society, 150 N. Lowell St., Ironwood, MI 49938. To view Ray's obituary online, sign the guestbook or express condolences, visit mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com. Arrangements are with McKevitt-Patrick and Engstrom Funeral and Cremation Services of Ironwood and Hurley.