Lee Watrin

Lee Thomas Watrin
February 5, 1952 to September 21, 2023
Lee Watrin passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 21 after a one-year
fight with cancer. He was a California boy and a multi-faceted man - a dedicated
Adaptive Physical Education Teacher, a sailing race team crew member, a black
belt in Aikido, a marine hobbyist, a cook, and had an interest in antiques. But first
and foremost, he was a loving husband to Helene Watrin for 47 years.
Lee grew up in Redondo Beach and graduated from Redondo Beach High School,
where he played on the tennis team. After graduating, he studied to be a peace
officer at El Camino College and started training in martial arts. After
taking a year off, he traveled to Tokyo, Japan, and studied under Master Gozo
Shioda. He returned home a year later with a second-degree black belt in
Yoshinkan Aikido, often called the “hard” style of aikido, is a form of martial arts
emphasizing self-defense. Black Belt Magazine published two articles about
his achievements.
About this time, Lee became re-acquainted with Helene, and the story took
another turn. He went to Michigan to bring her and his girls back to California
with him, and thereafter were many years of ups-downs-around, but always love,
travel, and adventure.
Lee changed his career path and completed his studies with a Bachelor’s Degree
in Kinesiology from CSUN and a Master’s in Business Administration from UCLA.
He was a certified LAUSD teacher who retired in 2015 from the Marlton School for
the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, serving Kindergarten through High School in Los
Angeles. He wore many hats at Marlton but was most affectionately known as
the “Teacher Mentor.” Lee’s accomplishments at Marlton included his Leadership
in Marine Science program being selected from 40 outstanding teachers, his
American Sign Language (ASL) staff training and curriculum, and his Individual
Educational Program (IEP) computer program. Lee was the Marlton staff lead on
the Safety Committee, the Disaster Preparedness Committee, the Technology
Coordinator and he helped the school get grant funding for multiple projects.
Lee’s passion was sailing. He started racing sailboats when he was sixteen and
continued to sail most of his life. He had the opportunity to serve as a race team
crew member on sailboats worldwide and contributed his expertise to
multiple teams that often won trophies. He cherished his time on the water and
the friends he made along the way.
Lee was preceded in death by his father, Al Watrin, his mother, Maryette Watrin,
and his brother Alvin Watrin. He is survived by his brother Gary Watrin, his loving
wife Helene Watrin; his cherished daughters and sons-in-laws: Carolyn and
Christopher McNierney, Deborah and Robert Howell, and Eden and David
Stafford. Lee had seven wonderful grandchildren: Derek Bridges, Justin Bridges,
Chelsea Howell, Shelby Howell, Morgan and Crystal Stafford, Tyler McNierney,
and Alana Yates. He also had five precious great-grandchildren: Amber Bridges,
Koda Lee Bridges, Maxwell McNierney, Olivia McNierney, Irie Stafford Aubrey
Pacheco and Isaiah Pacheco.
Lee will be missed dearly by them and many other family and friends. A
Celebration of Life in his honor will be held on Sunday, November 12th, 2023, at
Redondo Beach Elks Lodge #1378, 315 Esplanade, where he was a member.
In lieu of flowers, please contribute to https://www.4ocean.com (an organization
that cleans the ocean of trash)