Lawrence Edwin Orme DDS
DURANGO, Colo. – In the early morning hours of Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, Dr. Lawrence Orme died peacefully at home in Durango, Colo. with his family by his side after an arduous eight month battle with lung cancer.
Lawrence “Larry” Orme was born on Jan. 3, 1945, in Washington, D.C. He was the second child of Thomas Wilton Orme and Evelyn Ross Orme. Larry was raised on a small farm west of Hillsboro, Va, where he learned the value of hard work. He attended schools in Loudoun County and in 1962 he graduated from The Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pa. He then studied at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.
During one of his summer breaks, Larry was fortunate to take a trip to Maine where he met the love of his life, Corinne “Connie” Anne Morrisette, a nursing student at CMGH School of Nursing in Lewiston. In the summer of 1966, after Larry graduated from Washington and Lee, Larry and Connie were married along the coast of Maine.
Larry continued his education at Georgetown University Dental School in Washington D.C., graduating Cum Laude in 1970. As a young dentist he worked briefly with his father, also a dentist, in McLean, Va., and then in 1978 he opened his own dental practice in Leesburg, Va. Living on a small farm that neighbored the home of his childhood in Hillsboro, Va., Larry was able to give his family a deep connection to the outdoors, raising a bountiful garden, chickens, cattle, and other livestock. Larry ran his dental practice successfully for nearly 20 years before retiring to begin his next adventure.
In 1996 Larry realized a lifelong dream when he and Connie moved to the coast of Maine at Goose Rocks Beach in the Kennebunks. During his semi-retirement, he provided dental care at the Community Dental Health Clinics in Portland and Sanford. In 1997 he joined the staff at the University of New England’s Westbrook College of Health Professions, as an adjunct faculty member in the Dental Hygiene Program. In 2004 he became a full-time clinical assistant professor and was instrumental in establishing a dental externship program with Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine. These dental students worked directly under Larry and had the opportunity to learn not only excellent clinical skills but to understand the importance of patient-centered care and the art of kindness and compassion when working with community members.
Larry went into full retirement in 2011 when he and Connie moved to Lexington, Va. While in Lexington Larry was an active member of Sunrise Rotary and a board member of the Rockbridge Area Health Center (RAHC), serving on the executive committee for several of those years. During Larry’s time on the board, he brought to the table his years of experience as a successful dentist and professional business owner and shared that experience to enhance the vision of RAHC. Whether at RAHC board meetings or out in the community at large, Larry had a personal interest in sharing the good news of RAHC and its commitment to the wellbeing of the community.
During their many years together Larry and Connie traveled frequently out west to visit family and enjoy some fun adventures. Always drawn to the mountains, western desertscapes and trout-filled rivers, Larry and Connie made a final venture out west in 2020 to live in the Colorado town of Durango.
Larry’s memory will be cherished by all who knew him. He was kind, generous, and had a great sense of humor. He was a man of quiet, deep inner-faith which guided his daily life. He was a skilled fly fisherman who loved the world’s natural beauty and was fortunate to fish pristine waters in Virginia, Maine, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, and Patagonia, many times with his closest friends and family. He never missed a chance to be on the river. He also enjoyed playing cards and games with family and chess with his grandsons. He joked; he laughed; he told great stories. Anyone in his presence always had a good time. He will be missed beyond any words that can be said or written.
Larry was predeceased by his parents; and his brother, Thomas W. Orme Jr. He leaves behind his wife, Connie, of 56 years; daughter, Julia Duffy and husband, Andy of Durango, daughter, Ginny Orme of Wilmington, NC; five grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; sister, Becky Russell and husband William of Roanoke, Va., sister-in-law, Gloria J. Huot of Lyman, Maine, brother-in-law, Kevin Morrissette of Cambridge, Mass.; and several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Those who wish to
remember Larry in a special way may make gifts in his name to his favorite conservation group:
Trout Unlimited
PO Box 98166
Washington, DC 20090
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