Obituary for Arnold Orr
It is with great sadness that the family of Arnold Orr announces that our beloved father, grandfather, and great grandfather passed from this life on January 11, 2022 at Melfort Union Hospital.
He was predeceased by his loving wife Hazel, his brothers Harold and Lorne, and sisters Reta and Ruby. Left to mourn and go on are his children Douglas, Ronald (Faith), Darlene (Bill), Karen, Dianne (Lanny) and Robert, numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, his brother Ken and his sister Florence.
Arnold was born February 7, 1924 in the Val Marie area of Saskatchewan where he lived until 1934. As with many families in Southern Saskatchewan they experienced many droughts and crop losses, so the family packed up and came to the Pleasant Valley area near Melfort.
There, dad attended Melinda School, then did his high school by correspondence. In 1946 he left the farm to begin his electrical apprenticeship with the newly formed Melfort Electric Company and in 1947 he met and married Hazel White and began to raise a family. He earned his journeyman ticket and began running crews electrifying rural areas and taking charge of large projects like the Melfort Hospital and Nipawin Hospital. In 1955 he began presiding over Melfort Electric, then expanding it into a thriving business and adding furniture sales with a new building in 1965, operating until 1999 when it was sold.
Dad always believed in community service and was involved with the Board of Trade and the Retail Merchants Association as well as being a School Trustee for many years. He then entered civic politics in 1968 as a town councillor until 1976 when he became mayor, serving in that capacity for a total of eighteen years. There were many highlights in those years including the opening of the Northern Lights Palace, the new City Hall, improvements to the water system, and incorporating Melfort as a City in 1980.
Dad had many interests outside of civic life. He had a happy and active life with Hazel and their six children. He was very active with his church and enjoyed playing golf, bowling, curling and spending time at our McPhee Lake cabin, as well as many happy hours with family and friends playing his favourite game of crokinole.
Dad will be fondly remembered and missed by the many lives he touched. He has been dearly loved, and we are so blessed and thankful for his guidance, his example and for his unconditional love.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” Rev. 21:4
Friends so wishing may make memorial contributions to the North Central Health Care Foundation, PO Box 1480, Melfort, SK S0E 1A0.
He was predeceased by his loving wife Hazel, his brothers Harold and Lorne, and sisters Reta and Ruby. Left to mourn and go on are his children Douglas, Ronald (Faith), Darlene (Bill), Karen, Dianne (Lanny) and Robert, numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, his brother Ken and his sister Florence.
Arnold was born February 7, 1924 in the Val Marie area of Saskatchewan where he lived until 1934. As with many families in Southern Saskatchewan they experienced many droughts and crop losses, so the family packed up and came to the Pleasant Valley area near Melfort.
There, dad attended Melinda School, then did his high school by correspondence. In 1946 he left the farm to begin his electrical apprenticeship with the newly formed Melfort Electric Company and in 1947 he met and married Hazel White and began to raise a family. He earned his journeyman ticket and began running crews electrifying rural areas and taking charge of large projects like the Melfort Hospital and Nipawin Hospital. In 1955 he began presiding over Melfort Electric, then expanding it into a thriving business and adding furniture sales with a new building in 1965, operating until 1999 when it was sold.
Dad always believed in community service and was involved with the Board of Trade and the Retail Merchants Association as well as being a School Trustee for many years. He then entered civic politics in 1968 as a town councillor until 1976 when he became mayor, serving in that capacity for a total of eighteen years. There were many highlights in those years including the opening of the Northern Lights Palace, the new City Hall, improvements to the water system, and incorporating Melfort as a City in 1980.
Dad had many interests outside of civic life. He had a happy and active life with Hazel and their six children. He was very active with his church and enjoyed playing golf, bowling, curling and spending time at our McPhee Lake cabin, as well as many happy hours with family and friends playing his favourite game of crokinole.
Dad will be fondly remembered and missed by the many lives he touched. He has been dearly loved, and we are so blessed and thankful for his guidance, his example and for his unconditional love.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” Rev. 21:4
Friends so wishing may make memorial contributions to the North Central Health Care Foundation, PO Box 1480, Melfort, SK S0E 1A0.