Clyde Vincent Orr, Jr., age 92, of Florence, died Friday, February 20, 2015.
The funeral service, including military honors, will be Monday at 1 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, Florence, with the Rev. Mike Pope and the Rev. Robert Sparkman officiating. Burial will follow in Greenview Memorial Park. A time of visitation will be held in the atrium of the church beginning at 11 a.m.
He was born in Birmingham, the son of the late Clyde Vincent Orr, Sr. and Hazel Strickland Orr. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Bettye Brittain Orr, a granddaughter, Catherine Anglin, a brother, Russell Vincent Orr, and sisters, Nettie Catherine Walker, of Birmingham, and Dorothy Francis Crosby, of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Clyde attended Norwood Grammar School and John Herbert Phillips High School in Birmingham and Alverson Business College. He graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) in 1947 with a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering. He served as President of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and was a member of Spades Honor Society, composed of the 10 most influential Seniors, the highest honor an Auburn man can receive. He was a member of Blue Key Honor Society, the Inter-Fraternity Council, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Auburn Band.
He served as the squadron navigator aboard a B-17 bomber during World War II. The squadron was a part of the 8th Air Force, 94th bomb group, and he flew 30 combat missions over Germany, 28 of those as navigator of the lead B-17 Bomber crew flying out of Rougham Air Force Base near Bury St. Edmonds, England.
He had been employed by Wimberly & Thomas Hardware, Birmingham, Manning, Maxwell & Moore, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Moore-Handley Hardware, Birmingham. He was Executive Vice-President and Sales Manager and part owner of Martin Supply Company, Sheffield, and founded and served as President of Orr Industrial Specialty Co., Sheffield, before fully retiring in 2005.
He served as President of the Downtown Florence Kiwanis Club in 1978, was a past president of Muscle Shoals Salesmen Club, and past president of Shoals-Labor/Management Committee. He was an active member of the First United Methodist Church, Florence, where he was a past Chairman of the Administrative Board, former lay leader, member of the choir, past Sunday school teacher and United Methodist Conference delegate.
Clyde is survived by his wife, Shirley McCorkle Orr; sons, Clyde V. Orr III (Marie-Francoise Pereira), of Montreal, Canada, and Steven Brittain Orr (Linda), of Florence; daughters, Bettye Ann Anglin (Forrest), of Birmingham, and Cynthia Sue Davis (Allan), of Florence; seven wonderful grandchildren and two wonderful great-grandchildren, and many nephews and nieces.
Pallbearers will be John Archer, J.D. Choat, Glenn Sherrod, Frederick Pelle III, Benjamin Pelle, Forrest Anglin, Jr. and Steven Orr II.
In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to the First United Methodist Church, Florence.
Steve Chenault and Elkins Funeral Home are assisting the family.
