Oris Daniel Dearborn Jr.

Obituary for Oris Daniel Dearborn Jr. Colonel, United States Air Force Beloved Brother, Father, Mentor, and Friend My father is survived by his sisters Mary Ellen, Ruth, Margaret, his brother Dorr, and my mother Hanneke, me (Oris Daniel III) Kristine, Bart, and Matt. He has 11 grandchildren Oris Daniel IV, Evan, Hope, Sage, Luke Anneke Mae, Elijah, Cody, Garrett, Sebastian, and Pieter. Dan Dearborn was born in Ontario Oregon on May 3rd, 1934. His father was Oris Daniel Sr. and his mother was Margaret Gellatly Dearborn. Oris Sr. was the Ontario High School agriculture teacher and Margaret an office manager. Dan was the fourth child born to Oris and Margaret. They were very eager to have a boy after three daughters. Dan was an excellent student and excelled at sports as well. He loved to play football (especially defense), basketball (he was 6’4”—pretty good for his generation), baseball and track (he was an excellent hurdler). My Uncle Dorr notes that Dan had competed in three sports against Harmon Killebrew--the Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer. He also competed in debate. Matching wits served him well as a lawyer. As a young boy he earned money by mowing lawns with a push mower. In his teens he worked on a cattle ranch in the Oregon back country. He learned to love hard work and roughing it with no electricity and no plumbing. Dan adored the work and knew how to handle teams of horses. His reputation grew as a talented and dedicated worker in any endeavor, whether it was ranching, academics, or sports. He even became student body president of all four of his high school years. Dan enjoyed acting in school plays, and he never missed a school dance. Being tall and skinny didn’t make him socially awkward. He made friends easily his whole life. Dan’s love for being around people was evident in his favorite things to do--socialize, meet new people, travel, teach, play team sports, and mentor folks. He threw some great parties too! After high school he went to Willamette University in Salem Oregon. There he was befriended by his academic advisor Mark O. Hatfield—who became Oregon’s governor and U.S. Senator. His fraternity mentor was Bob Packwood—who also became a U.S. Senator. Dan and Bob Packwood both went to Law School at New York University on a Root-Tilden Scholarship. After law school Dan worked as a Federal District Court clerk in Portland. He then went into the Air Force as part of the Judge Advocate General Corps. While stationed in Soesterberg Royal Dutch Air Force Base, he met his wife Hanneke. He bought a Porshe 356 (just about the only sports car he could fit in) and began having adventures all over Europe with his new bride. After moving back to the States, Dan and Henneke were stationed in Everett, Washington where I was born—Oris Daniel Dearborn III. After a year, Dan separated from active duty, entered the military reserves, and went to work in the Multanomah County District Attorney’s Office, in Portland. My sister Kristine Hanneke Dearborn was born there in Portland. After the DA’s office, Dan went to work in private practice for a large personal injury law firm, but the 80 hours a week in legal work took a toll on his young family. He opted to re-enter the regular Air Force to increase his family time instead of his bank account and house size. In doing so he saved his marriage and his family. He got stationed in Biloxi Mississippi in 1971. Both my brothers, Bart Jan and Matthew Dorr were born in Biloxi. After four years living in Mississippi, Dan received a very challenging mission to Korat Thailand. There he did a lot of very dangerous work with the Thai Army and Thai National Police. Dan had a price on his head from the day he got there to the day he left. Many of his Thai friends were assassinated and this scarred Dan deeply. He told me that his Thai friend’s lives were continually in danger, but they were totally dedicated to the safety of their people. Dan could return to us. To a safe place. But they would always face threats. Dan was given the choice of his next assignment. He gave Hanneke the choice. After a year of living in the Netherlands with our Opa and Oma, we moved to England for three years. Us kids had quite an experience going to Dutch and British schools. It was an adventure we all still cherish. In 1978 we moved back to the USA. To California where we were reunited with our West Coast family. Hanneke and Dan became Christians while we were in California, and it changed our whole family for the better. Dad had a new lease on life, and he could breathe fun and inspiration into all of us as he finally found peace after his year in Thailand. Sooner or later the Pentagon comes calling. Dan served five years at the Pentagon where he competed for and was promoted to Colonel. We joined Truro Anglican Church, in Fairfax Virginia. In church Dan and Hanneke taught Sunday School, Adult Bible School, the Marriage Course, Alpha, and were a part of several missions over seas and in the Washington DC area. After retiring from the Air Force, Dan became a contract attorney for Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. It was the kind of job that let him indulge in his passions. Church work, and taking fishing adventures with his brother Dorr, white water trips in the Northwest wilderness with his son Bart, and even his namesake grandson Oris Daniel IV. He had time for his romance with our mother and time with grandkids. Sacred time. Almost every day was a celebration for my parents. They both have so much love to share. Both are tapped into that tender high octane Holy Spirit kind of Love. Ask anyone they have ever met. Oris Daniel Dearborn Jr. died on December 3rd, 2021, in the presence of his beloved brother Dorr and me. He is missed. There is an empty place where we used to get together, but it is not a sense of loss because we know he is in good and great company with our Father in Heaven. And because we are tapped into that high octane Holy Spirit too, we are always together. I love you Dad. Thank you for your love, your example, and your fun. And as your kid, your forgiving nature. Oris Daniel Dearborn Jr’s memorial service will be streamed live on YouTube from Truro Anglican Church on 15 January 2022 at 2:00pm Eastern Standard time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY6cKxen3d4 He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery sometime late this summer. Remembrances can be posted and shared to https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/fairfax-va/oris-dearborn-10481584 Thank you, Aunt Ruth, for pushing me to do this. I love you too.