Special Recognition
Ed Orr has one of the more unique resumes of our Stivers graduates. While in school Ed was voted President of the Ten Tigers. Also, he was on Prom Court several times, drew cartoons for the school newspaper, and painted backgrounds for the school plays.
While in the fifth grade Ed won a scholarship to the Dayton Art Institute that put him in a class where all of the other students were in high school. Often it was said that Ed might become the next Milton Caniff or Norman Rockwell. Somehow Ed found time to play four years of varsity football, never missing a game. He also was on the fencing team.
There were several articles about him in the Dayton Daily News as well as several other publications. While in Vietnam, Ed considered the following people to be his friends: General Westmoreland, Walter Cronkite, Sean Flynn, Dana Stone, Raquel Welch, Nguyen Cao Ky, and Bob Hope, to mention a few. It is ironic that he found himself in the Vietnam War mainly because of his artistic talents.
After Ed returned home, the Governor of Washington State honored him and his work by displaying it at the Seattle Science Center. His work has also been displayed inside of the rotunda of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
After Ed’s military service, his life was changed for the worse when he was diagnosed with severe and debilitating PTSD caused by his experiences in Vietnam. Ed left four daughters to cherish his memory after he passed away on October 2, 2021.
