Obituaries: Don Orr, Mary Louise Valentine

Don Orr, 92, died July 5 in Burleson. He was a fighter pilot with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, flying 203 missions in the China-Burma-India theater. Don OrrHe earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters and three battle stars. He then attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary before becoming the first music missionary appointed by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign Mission Board. He taught 34 years at the Seminario Bautista Teologico in Cali, Colombia. Retiring in 1984, he continued to serve as a volunteer with the Texas Baptist Men builders and the Singing Men of Texas until age 89. He also participated in the music ministry at First Baptist Church in Burleson. He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Violet.

Mary Louise Valentine, 91, died Oct. 9 in Dallas. Her husband, Foy, was executive director of the Southern Baptist Christian Life Commission and, before that, the Texas Christian Life Commission. Mary Louise ValentineShe was a supportive minister’s wife and a faithful member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., and later, Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas. She was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years; daughter, Cindy Valentine; brother, Henry. She is survived by her daughters, Jean Valentine, Carol Valentine and Susan Brown; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.