Cecil M. Orr

Cecil Merl Orr was born to John Hurley Orr and Edna Mae Strong in Cooper, Texas, on June 20, 1918. He was preceded in death by his older sister, Dorothe. His younger sister Kathryn currently resides in california. Cecil like may others, went to work at a very young age during the great depression. Cecil met I.B. Kirby in 1939 and they were married in I.B.'s parents home in Rockwall County, Texas on November 11, 1939. He joined the Navy on June 27th, 1944. Cecil and I. B. Lived in San Diego, California, Shreveport and Monroe , Louisiana, San Antonio, Texas and Washington. Cecil was an Aviation Ordnanceman, Third Class and was honorably discharged on February 23, 1946. Cecil and I.B. returned to Dallas, Texas where their daughter Teresa was born in 1947. In 1951, they joined a group of Baptists to start Northway Baptist Church, which was formally organized in 1952. They were active members until I.B.'s passing in 2002. Cecil worked as a machinist when first returning to Dallas in the early 50's. He later found work at Mobil in their Research Lab where he worked for over 30 years. Cecil was a self taught man who worked his way up to a supervisor position. He achieved great success including holding a patent while at Mobil. After retiring in 1984, he continued his hobby of photography and also continued some machine work for Mobile in his own machine shop. In 2006, Cecil moved to Ft. Worth to be closer to his daughter. Cecil remained active into his early 90's, singing in a choir with his other senior friends and regularly attending church services.