Delroy Ormer Spann

Delroy Ormer Spann, a lifelong resident of Baton Rouge, passed away peacefully at the age of 99 on Tuesday, August 3, 2021. Born in Wakefield, LA on November 25, 1921, he was the second of four sons of Benjamin Leo Spann and Margaret Leake Stirling Spann. He was named for his uncles Delahoussaye and Roy, and Ormer Locklear, a WWI pilot and old friend of his father’s. Delroy was a devoted son, husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, and friend whose memory will be cherished forever.

Growing up in Baton Rouge, he was an avid Boy Scout and Sea Explorer, a lifeguard at City Park Pool, graduating from Baton Rouge High. He went on to LSU where he played trombone in the Tiger Band and graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1942. After graduation, Delroy worked for Standard Oil in Baton Rouge where he met his wife Marion Lucille Crawford. They were married at St. Joseph’s Cathedral on May 25th, 1954. Their only child Robert Baxter was born two years later. Delroy, along with his father and brothers, owned and operated Spann’s Esso service station on Convention St. for several years after leaving Standard Oil. He continued his engineering career at Gamma Industries, Delta Tank Co., Monochem, and Borden Chemical Co., retiring in 1983.

Delroy was very active throughout his life, playing tennis and swimming well into his nineties. In later years he and his brother Leo were regulars at the LSU Rec Center pool. Family history was always an important interest of his, and he eagerly served on Stirling Family Reunion committees. He developed detailed ancestry charts and photo displays for the many Stirling gatherings at the ancestral Wakefield Plantation. He liked to keep in touch with relatives near and far and enjoyed recounting memories of family and events over the years. He was known as “Paw-Paw” to his beloved granddaughters, Whitney and Kelsey who cherish their memories of his love. One of his life’s passions was for his home which he and Marion built in 1972. He worked diligently to maintain the property himself well into his nineties. His “shop” became a family legend, where he could fix or build anything he or anyone else needed.

After retirement, he continued his ties to LSU by assisting Marion in her work with the Book Barn for over 25 years, collecting donated books all over town by the trunk load.

Delroy participated in the Senior Olympics, winning dozens of gold medals in swimming, tennis, and various track and field events. Delroy had a strong-willed determination which saw him though a heart attack, quintuple bypass surgery, and colon cancer. In his last years he was always proud to report his daily outdoor laps around the building at Sunrise – up until just a few days before he passed.

Marion, his wife of 62 years, passed away in 2017. He is also predeceased by his brothers, Benjamin Leo Spann, Jr., William Stirling Spann, and Louis Grey Spann. He is survived by his son Robert Baxter Spann (Patricia Rock Spann) of The Woodlands, Texas, and his granddaughters Whitney Elizabeth Spann, and Kelsey Amelia Spann, and by many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

His family wishes to express their gratitude to the compassionate nurses and caregivers who watched over him. Memorial donations may be made in his name to Hospice of Baton Rouge.

There will be a 10 am visitation held on Friday, October 22, at Rabenhorst Funeral Home on Government street. Memorial service will begin at 11:30.