Colonel (Ret.) David Loren Orr

Colonel (Ret.) David L. Orr, often known by his call sign Iron, passed away at the age of 64 on August 16, 2026. He is survived by his wife Lisa, his children Jackson, Austin, and Bailey, his granddaughter Iris, brothers Tom and Jeff, and his cats Max and Lily.

David Loren Orr was born on August 2, 1962, on Minot AFB, North Dakota to Father Loren Eugene Orr and Mother Martha Jane Orr. As sons of an Air Force navigator, Dave and his 3 older brothers, Tom, Andrew, and Jeff, were no strangers to the Military brat lifestyle that required frequent cross-country moves. Dave himself lived in North Dakota, Nebraska, and Fort Worth before his father was assigned to Homestead AFB, Florida in 1973. Dave would spend the rest of his childhood at Homestead excelling athletically and academically, first at Redland Junior High School and then at South Dade High School. At South Dade, Dave lettered in Baseball and Football and was the student in his class selected to the social studies wall of fame. He received scholarship offers for football and even briefly considered a baseball career over the summer before instead deciding to take an ROTC scholarship to attend the University of Miami. At the U, Dave earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science in addition to a Double Major in History.

Iron’s illustrious career as an American aviator began when he was sent to Laughlin AFB in 1984 for pilot training. After Pilot training, he was “faped” and tasked with instructing other pilots in the operation of the T-38. David took to teaching. He was infectiously positive, took genuine interest in others, and wanted to see others perform to their best. Instructing provided him with some early leadership experience that would serve him so well throughout his career.

As for his own flying abilities, Iron was a Command Pilot with over 4,800 flight hours to his credit. Throughout his career he would fly the F-16C, F-16A, AT-38, T-38, and T-37. In 1995, as project officer, Captain Orr led the 62nd Fighter Squadron to victory in the Long Shot Competition. 6 teams competed in a short-notice, long-range bombing competition and he helped the “Spikes” to claim the prize. For both his flying and his leadership during exercises participated in while stationed at Kunsan AFB, Korea he would be awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and the Aerial Achievement Medal. As his career progressed and flying a Viper gave way to flying a desk, you could tell it was bittersweet for him. While he was happy to step back and fill other roles, nothing could quite compare to being a fighter pilot. If he could wear his flight suit to work every day he would have.

David’s career meant frequent moves for him and his clan. His early career was largely spent in Texas at Laughlin and Randolph AFB. It was while stationed at Laughlin that he would meet his wife of nearly 40 years, Lisa Marie. After that it was off to Florida, with a brief stint at Macdill before being stationed back in his hometown, Homestead. His first son Jackson was born there in 1990. The arrival of Hurricane Andrew forced the young family to relocate to Valdosta, Georgia in 1992 where his second son, Austin, would be born the next year. Amidst his responsibilities at work and home, he found the time to earn his Master of Public Administrations Degree from Valdosta State University. After Georgia, it was time to cross the country for his first of three times being stationed at Luke AFB in Arizona. Another cross-country journey later and the family was in Langley AFB, Virginia where Dave served as Executive Officer to the ACC Vice Commander. Here his youngest child and only daughter Bailey would be born in 1996. Next it was off to Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, followed by a one-year tour in Korea at Kunsan AFB. During his second stint at Luke, he served as Commander of the 56th Operations Support Squadron in addition to continuing to fly and instruct. Moving back to a desk, Dave was sent to Air War college in 2002 and to the Pentagon in 2003. Iron’s last tour at Luke saw his final flight in an F-16 while serving as Vice Commander of the 56th Fighter Wing. It was also during this tour that he would be deployed to Iraq where he would serve as the commander of the 407th Air Expeditionary Group at Ali Base. For his service in Iraq, he was awarded a Bronze Star and Legion of Merit. He finished his career serving as Vice Commander of Second Air Force at Keesler AFB, Mississippi in 2007 and as Commander of 66th Air Base at Hanscom, AFB, Massachusetts in 2008.

On the citation to his Legion of Merit, it remarks that he, “presided over 50 promotion, graduation, and award events, and captivated the wing and local communities with over 100 speeches.” He was unwavering in his devotion to the United States Air Force and firmly believed in its mission. As a leader he described his style as BIONIC for, “believe it or not I actually care.” He believed in ensuring that the people he commanded were not just mission ready but fulfilled, healthy, and being given the tools necessary to accomplish their goals. It was remarked that he got people to be all they could be and pushed others to be more than they could.

After his Air Force career, he worked for Raytheon International in International Business and Development for 10 years. His travels took him all over the world, forming new connections with people in Poland, Israel, and beyond. He retired in 2020 and settled in San Antonio, the city in which he first met his wife some 30 years earlier.

Away from work Dave was as energetic as they came. A day that included a morning run, pushups, sit ups, and jump ropes followed by a noon trip to the gym, and an afternoon hike was not unusual. During breaks in tennis and racquetball he was known to start doing jump ropes to emphasize to his opponent that he would not be the one to tire out first. His trophy case is full of medals earned from dominating the local fun run circuit in whichever place he happened to be stationed. Into his 50s he was whooping his children at tennis and ping pong and leaving them in the dust on hiking trails and bike rides. One of his few less healthy vices was a lifetime love of ice cream. From Knaus Berry Farm mango milkshakes to Baskin Robin hand packed pints, the man would never say no to ice cream provided it did not contain mint.

Dave once remarked that the greatest inheritance a parent could leave a child was their time and he was committed to being an active participant in his children’s lives. If one of their sports teams needed a coach he would eagerly volunteer for the role. If the team already had a coach, he’d show up to practice anyway and help hit ground balls or run tackle drills. When his daughter took an interest in musical theater, he happily sang show tunes with her and took her on trips to New York to visit Broadway. The security lead at the stage door for Hamilton was so moved by Dave’s obvious affection for his daughter that he invited them to skip the line and meet the actors on stage. He loved taking the family to theme parks and had a child-like enthusiasm for roller coasters. From arrival until departure, he would move swiftly from coaster to coaster taking as few breaks as possible. We were sometimes left to wonder if we’d come to the park for us kids or for him.

After his retirement, Dave sadly began exhibiting symptoms of a neurodegenerative condition, later diagnosed as Progressive Supranuclear Palsey. It was extremely challenging for his family to see him afflicted with mobility and cognitive issues at such a young age and with so much energy, wisdom and love left to give. No doubt he would have outlived us all had this tragedy not happened.

But even in this weakened state Dave had endless energy and would offer up a big smile whenever family members came to visit or take him out on excursions. In his final years he was able to bust some dance moves at his son Austin’s wedding, accompany Bailey down the aisle at her own wedding, and meet his granddaughter Iris, who carries his name on and shares his love of animals and the outdoors.

While all who knew and loved Dave are devastated at his passing we also know he would want us to smile. He was known to say, “it takes more muscles to frown than to smile so why are you working so hard?”, and he loved and often repeated the line from the movie Elf, “I love smiling, smiling’s my favorite.” A good day for Dave involved exercise, sun on the old bod’, and family. So, when the sorrow passes go have some fun in the sun and smile remembering the amazing man he was.

In lieu of flowers, we welcome donations in Dave’s honor to Cure PSP, a national nonprofit dedicated to awareness, care and cure for Progressive Supranuclear Palsey and other neurodegenerative diseases. To donate to their mission, you can visit https://www.psp.org/ways-to-give.

Visitation will be held at Porter Loring Mortuary - North, 2102 North Loop 1604 East, San Antonio, TX 78232, US, on September 1, 2026, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, followed by a Funeral Service at the same location from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. To view the service please click here: https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/c26095920435779

Committal will take place at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78209, US, on September 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. To view the service click here: https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/c26098369720458