Oranell Henniger Paige

She is survived by her son, Richard Paige of San Jose, CA; her daughter, Sharon Paige of Auburn, WA; and a grandson, Nathan Paige also of San Jose, CA. She is predeceased by her husband, Eugene C. Paige, Jr.

Ora Nell was born in 1929 in Austin County, Texas. Ora Nell graduated from the University of Texas in 1949 with a BS in Education. With her degree, she taught math as a junior high school teacher in Edinburg, Texas. After a year of teaching, she attended the Chicago Lutheran Theological Seminary where she obtained a Master's degree in religious education. While in graduate school, she met her future husband and they married in 1951. Upon the birth of their children, she stayed home full-time, supplementing motherhood with volunteer work. In 1957, the family moved to Charlottesville.

Ora Nell indulged her intellectual interests by working in the Special Collections at Alderman Library and serving as a docent at UVA's Fralin Museum of Art. Nurturing a lifelong botanical passion, Ora Nell cultivated an impressive garden comprising a diverse collection of flora, most notably her 80 orchids.

Ora Nell and Gene indulged a shared passion for travel, visiting all 50 of the United States, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. One of her fondest memories is the many years they spent designing and building, by themselves, a cabin in Nelson County. In 2004, they moved to the Colonnades.