Mortimer F. LaPointe died on November 24, 2024, in Brunswick, Maine.
Coach, Men’s Lacrosse 1969-1990; Honorary Member, Bowdoin Alumni Association
From: President Zaki <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2024 3:24 PM
Subject: Mortimer F. LaPointe (1932–2024)
To the Bowdoin community,
I am sorry to write with the news that Coach Emeritus Mortimer F. LaPointe passed away this past Sunday, November 24, at the age of 92. Mort coached the men’s lacrosse team for twenty-one years, guiding the Bowdoin program to national prominence while working to grow the sport in New England and beyond.
Mortimer F. LaPointe was born in Ticonderoga, NY, on May 19, 1932. He earned a BS degree at Trinity College in 1955 and a master of arts in liberal studies at Wesleyan University in 1965. In 1955, he married Sally Smith. While he was working on his degree at Wesleyan, he began coaching lacrosse at the Lenox School in Massachusetts. He taught science and coached at Lenox before being hired at Bowdoin in 1969 as an assistant football coach, freshman basketball coach, and coach of lacrosse.
Mort and his wife, Sally, a pioneering coach of women’s sports teams at Bowdoin, were both inducted into the Bowdoin College Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006. The College was not alone in recognizing his contributions to the sport. He was a member and chair of the NCAA Lacrosse Rules Committee, president of the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, recipient of the US Lacrosse Coaches Association’s Joseph R. Julien Service Award and the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IMLCA) Lifetime Service Award, and he was inducted into the IMLCA Hall of Fame. After his retirement in 1990, his former players established the Mortimer F. LaPointe Lacrosse Award at Bowdoin in his honor.
Mort was predeceased by his wife, Sally, in 2007. He is survived by three sons, Mortimer LaPointe Jr. of Bowdoinham, Maine, Josh LaPointe (Victoria) of Bowdoinham, Maine, and Garth LaPointe (Shapleigh) of Deerfield, Massachusetts; and by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
To Mort’s family, former players, friends, and colleagues we offer condolences and our gratitude for his long service to Bowdoin and his contributions to the sport of lacrosse.
Sincerely,
Safa
I played lacrosse for only the last two years of my Bowdoin experience. The first was under Jim Lentz, our new football coach in the fall 68 season and interim lacrosse coach in the spring of 69; and then Mort arrived and our game changed. Jim was a great coach and wonderful to play for, but Mort taught most of us — certainly me — more about lacrosse and technique in his first season than I had ever expected to learn. In particular, his one-on-one lessons in the old Hyde cage when we had a free period were an experience I loved and have never forgotten. He was demanding with a personal approach that made him just a terrific coach.
We had a very good season going, but it was truncated by events at Kent State that spread strikes to many schools, our opponents as well as us. That was probably my worst moment at Bowdoin, but it was unavoidable.
When I was back for my first 5-year reunion, my wife-to-be and I stopped by the LaPointe home just to say hello. We were invited in to a short but gracious visit with both Sally and Mort, typical of their personal warmth. Though I only spoke to Mort infrequently and briefly at reunions thereafter (and I was never one of his “stars” anyway) he was always welcoming and had something to say about Bowdoin lacrosse. Due to him, I’ve loved the game all my life and have some cherished memories of my sporting “career”. Thank you, Coach.