H. Morris "Morrie" Paschall III

Henry Morris “Morrie” Paschall, III, of Piney Neck, MD, passed away at his home on January 15, 2017. He was 87. Born September 20, 1929, in Wilmington, DE, he was the son of the late Henry Morris Paschall, Jr. and Mary Lees. As a young man, his family moved to Piney Neck, where Morrie became an avid and well-respected sailor on the Chester River, sailing Hamptons and Chesapeake 20’s in the 1940’s and 1950’s. He attended Washington College and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He was married for 32 years to the late Laura Lee Hepbron of Rock Hall, moving his residence to Lutherville-Timonium in the late 1950’s to become a Financial Security Analyst in Baltimore. He continued sailing on the Chesapeake Bay in larger sailboats for years and received his airplane pilot’s license. In the late 1970’s, Morrie resumed his sailboat racing activities on the Chester River, this time in a Sunfish. He won the Up River Race and Down River Race year after year on corrected time. Following his wife’s death in 1989, he returned to Piney Neck full-time where he remained until his passing. In 1992, he broke the Down River Race record in his Sunfish. He was affectionately known at that time as the best sailor on the river, and younger sailors referred to him as “Paschall, the rascal.” At age 60, Morrie competed in the National Sunfish Masters in Rehobeth, DE, taking home double gold medals in both age group and overall competition. He had a passion for other recreational activities such as fishing and cruising with Chris, on his Grady White, as well as hunting, golfing, and cooking. Morrie recertified as an airplane pilot and performed aerobatics in an Extra EA-300 airplane and received his license to fly helicopters. He also built from scratch and flew many sophisticated remote controlled model airplanes and turbine jets. In the late 1990’s, he and Chris opened and successfully operated the Bay Leaf Gourmet on Main Street in Rock Hall for nine years. Morrie is survived by his devoted daughter, Laura “Laurie” Paschall McGrath and her husband Jim; step granddaughter Courtney Jolley and her husband Jim; step great-grandson Declan. He is also survived by his loving companion for close to 20 years Christine (Chris) Burgess, and her family: a daughter Whitney Hagan and husband Brian and their daughter Emma, and a son Michael Burgess and girlfriend Caitlin. He was brother to the late Mary Ann Paschall Strong. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2017, at 3:00 PM, at Rock Hall Yacht Club with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Chester River Association, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620.

H. Morris "Morrie" Paschall III

September 20, 1929 - January 15, 2017