Raymond James Orr

Raymond James Orr, 80, passed away in his sleep the afternoon of 18 June 2024 after a nearly 3-year battle with head and neck cancer. The cheerful wisecracking demeanor overlaying a core of kindness, loyalty and unyielding ethics will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Ray was born 4 January 1944 in Norman, OK to Samuel Orr and Neva Woods Orr, who had been high school sweethearts in Colorado Springs. At the time of Ray’s birth, Samuel was stationed in Oklahoma with the Navy, then joined the Army after the war. So Ray and his little sister Lynn grew up in a variety of places as part of a military family.

After graduating from Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, VA, Ray attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, spending many weekends with his grandparents in Colorado Springs while his parents were in France. All his life he looked forward to the football games of fall and winter; though in recent years the mostly losing seasons of his beloved Buffaloes caused his heart to bleed black and gold. The better recent records of the basketball team was only a consolation prize.

In 1968, Ray spent the first of his 23 years in the Army in Vietnam. Among his military exploits: he graduated from Ranger school and got his tab, jumped out of perfectly good airplanes 63 times, wore the green beret of Special Forces, and learned how to drive like a stunt driver in case he had to evade someone. The Army sent him to San Diego State where he earned a master’s degree in Latin American Studies. That and his experiences when stationed in several Central American countries led to a stint at the Pentagon as a Latin American analyst. (A line in the movie Charlie Wilson’s War references a position paper Ray wrote.) According to a colleague from that Pentagon period, Ray was widely known and respected within the intelligence community for his abilities to keep a cool head during contentious meetings and to carefully consider the impact of every word before speaking.

Most of his last military decade was overseas: three years in Belgium at the military headquarters for NATO, then five years in Spain as an assistant military attache to the American embassy in Madrid. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.

On return to the states in 1991, Ray’s career continued to be associated with the government. He first held a management role with an Albuquerque company contracted by the Department of Energy to investigate possible security clearance violations. During this time, he earned a master’s degree in computer management systems from the University of Phoenix. Then he took a 2-year career detour to the private sector as a corporate officer for a Tulsa-based call center company. But in 2001 the Department of Energy lured him back to public service as a “Fed” in Albuquerque, where he served as a director/manager in a series of roles. The last few years before his retirement in 2018, he led a team designing a computer program to track the progress of clearances.

Several of Ray’s coworkers described him as the best manager they ever worked for due to the respect with which he treated everyone and his ability to foster cohesion. As a sendoff, his colleagues published a colorful book of Ray Orrisms: sayings he spouted to soften any stings from disagreement. Many came from the military, others were stolen from the movies, and who knew where the rest came from. His brain automatically stored any sassy line that could later brighten a conversation.

Until his knees gave out, Ray was a dedicated runner. The year wife Carole met him, he participated in a marathon and numerous half-marathons. He had just turned 50 and was fastest in his age group in most of those races.

Spin cycling classes replaced running. Ever hungry for knowledge, Ray pursued training and became a certified Spinning instructor. But he never got to teach, because after he retired and finally had the time, he moved to a Peoria, AZ, community where the HOA does not hire residents to lead fitness classes.

But that was OK, because it left his schedule free for occasional travels to California to see his grandchildren and for joining the neighborhood guys exploring golf courses around Phoenix. In golf, the camaraderie was the point, as he continuously rued his barely minimal improvement.

Ray is survived by his companion of 30 years, wife Carole Mazurowski Orr; beloved daughters Heather Orr of Carlsbad, CA and Emily Orr of Payson, AZ; grandsons Lucas Lamar, 17, and Liam Lamar, 10, and granddaughter Leah Lamar, 10, of Carlsbad, CA. Ray’s sister, Lynn Orr Wrede predeceased him, but he remained close to her sons, nephews Keith Wrede of Colorado Springs, CO, and Doug Wrede of Winston-Salem, NC.

A family celebration of life this week will be private. A gathering for friends will be scheduled for the fall when snowbirds have returned to the neighborhood.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Smile Together for Cleft and Craniofacial Research and Care (www.smiletogether.gives) or Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (www.spohnc.org).