Kate Morin Shearer and her brother Matt Morin are shown in front of the Jeff Morin Playground at Roby Park. Also pictured are Kate's children, Jackson, 8, Kamryn, 4, Kinsley, 10 and Matt's daughter, 10. Courtesy photo

NASHUA – It has been 28 years since that fateful day in April 1995 when a car crash on Dublin Avenue claimed the lives of Jeff Morin, 15, and Malissa Blais, 16, both of whom were students at Nashua High School South.

The following year, Jeff’s parents, Tom and Sheryl Morin, established the Jeff Morin Memorial Scholarship Fund. Tom said the first five scholarships were awarded in 1997, the year when Jeff would have graduated.

The scholarships, valued at $2,500 each, were awarded to high school seniors who excelled in Math, Science, Foreign Language and English. The fifth scholarship was awarded to the student who wrote the best essay about friendship.

Prior to his passing, Jeff was in the top one percent of his high school class and was a member of the National Honor Society. By the age of 15, he was receiving academic scholarship offers from the most elite colleges and universities in the country.

“Every Ivy League school had recruited him,” said Tom. “He was borderline brilliant.”

After playing youth basketball and baseball for the city, Jeff went on to be a member of the ski and golf teams in high school as well as coach athletes in the Special Olympics.

Tom said the memorial fund was expanded in 2012 to offer additional support to Nashua’s youth. In May of that year, the fields at Roby Park were renamed the “Jeff Morin Fields at Roby Park.” A donation of $250,000 provided the city with funding to renovate the park’s playground with shade sails and artificial turf.

“We made it a terrific park destination,” said Tom, adding that the memorial fund now provides financial assistance for children to attend Nashua’s summer camp programs as well as t-shirts for the 1,500 children who are part of the city’s youth athletics program.

In addition, Jeff’s sister Kate Morin Shearer, took part in the Kiawah Island Marathon in South Carolina on Dec. 9, 2023. In doing so, she set up a GoFundMe page and raised $5,637 for the memorial fund.

“We were so proud of Kate for running a marathon,” said Tom.

Over the years, the memorial fund has raised approximately $700,000 for the children of Nashua.