Murian Lee (Bonin) Black Pardo Harper

BATH – Murian Lee Harper, 76, passed away peacefully after a brief illness on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at her home on the Kennebec River in Bath, surrounded by family and friends. Murian, often known as “Lee”, was born July 10, 1944 in Lewiston, to Leopold (Paul) Bonin and Muriel Berry Bonin. She attended school in Litchfield and Monmouth, graduating from Monmouth Academy in 1962.

Murian began her long career in insurance working for Lee Davis Insurance in Monmouth while still in high school. With a thirst for adventure, she moved to Washington, D.C. to see what the city had to offer, using her characteristic tenacity and friendliness to work her way up in the insurance industry and create a network of friends and colleagues that would become like family.

As a construction insurance bond agent, she worked for well-respected companies in the D.C. area such as Collier Cobb and Associates, which merged with Corroon and Black and Willis Corroon, and finished her career with Aon Risk Services.

After retirement, she and her husband Harper moved to Florida and then North Georgia, where they enjoyed golfing and socializing while making plenty of time to travel around the world. Africa especially held a special place in her heart, and she delighted in telling stories about her travels on the continent. In 2018, Murian returned to Maine to be closer to family and settled on the banks of the Kennebec in Bath.

Murian was predeceased by her husband Clyde Harper in 2016; her father in 1999 and mother in 2011; and her brother, Kendall Bonin, in 2020.

She is survived by her son, Jonmikel Pardo, his wife Kathryn, and grand-dog Thursday Next of Tenants Harbor; her stepdaughter, Janet Gehring and her husband Dave, her stepson, Steve Harper and his wife Pam; grandchildren Christopher Gehring and Quinton and Ava Harper; her sister, Rayna Leibowitz and her husband Philip of Litchfield; sister-in-law, Sharon Bonin; special aunt, Florence Slattery; and special cousin, Bethany Slattery-Mortimer, of Litchfield; and several nieces and nephews.

A private memorial service will be held later in the year, and burial will be in the Litchfield Plains Cemetery in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Murian’s memory to the

Litchfield Food Bank,

P.O. Box 306,

Litchfield, ME 04350.


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