Darren James Orr

Darren James Orr was born on July 18, 1977 in Edmonds, Washington. His parents are Allen & Peggy Orr. He was the 3rd child born to the couple on a beautiful, but hot, July day. He was a 91b140z. baby. Right from the beginning Darren was very determined, determined to eat about every hour, and determined not to sleep unless he felt like it. In fact, a few nights were spent walking the floor with him as he also had colic. When Darren was in kindergarten Peggy picked out one of his new shirts for him to wear to school, however, he did not like the shirt and refused to wear it, so Peggy said, "Well if you're not going to wear it, then you can just stay home from school, thinking he would be thrilled to get out of the house to attend school. She was wrong, "he stayed home" O Darren had a tough side but also a sensitive side. When he was 8 years old, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Darren always looked up to his big brother Greg and was always trying to do what Greg was doing, whether it was skateboarding, break dancing, bike riding, etc. he wanted to try, and actually picked up these sports easily. He became a very proficient skateboarder, an excellent snowboarder, rock climber, bungee jumper, bmx rider, mountain biker and hiker. You can't really describe Darren accurately unless you mention his "dimples", and his smile. He was a happy little kid, who did well in grade school and was loved by his teachers. He was probably their only child who did not get "talks too much" mentioned on his report card. One thing Darren said when he was little, was that when he grew up he wanted to live right next door to mom and dad. He was also pretty sure he flew helicopters with Allen when he was in Viet Nam. I think he felt he kept Allen safe, A couple years ago when Peggy and Al gave their kids a saved vintage silver dollar for Christmas, Darren received the one Al kept in his pocket throughout his VietNam tour.

Darren started Jr. high at Finn Hill Jr. High in Kirkland, WA., however, later transferred to Northshore Jr. High. He met his lifelong best friend Kevin Perry at Northshore. I'm sure they both could tell you how Jr. High went with much more accuracy than I can. That time flew by and it was on to high school. He completed his first 2 years at Inglemoor High School in Kirkland, WA. In 1993 the family moved from Kenmore, WA. to Hamilton, Mt. where Darren started his Jr. Year. The move didn't make him the happiest but he excelled in school, made lots of friends, ran cross country, and competed in high jump. He also honed his mountain bike skills. His parents would take him up to Canyon Creek to the overlook and he would take his bike and just go off the edge of the mountain, and they would pray that he would get to the bottom all in one piece. He never had a wreck but sometimes had to position his body behind the back tire so he didn't cartwheel down the hill. He just never felt the need to use the road O Too Easy! Darren graduated from Hamilton High School in 1995. After graduation he and his high school buddy Darren Zimmerman decided to hike the Selway to Idaho, going over the Bitterroots. We dropped them off at Blodgett Canyon Campground and they said they would call when they reached a ranger station, and/or civilization. They had a run-in with a moose and spent hours stuck on a ledge where they could neither get back up or down. They realized they had to dump their packs, which they did, if they had any chance of getting off. The packs exploded when they hit the rock field below them, ruining all their supplies. It was then they both prayed that if they got off the ledge they would be good boys forever. They ended up at the Powell Ranger Station on the Lochsa River, a week later, and miles from where they started.

In the Fall Darren attended Montana State University in Bozeman. He worked in an Assisting Living Facility where he did building maintenance and took the residents on shopping trips. Their favorite question of Darren, was "how tall are you" and the next "do you play basketball". He was 6'4" and no he did not play basketball. He attended Montana State for 1 year, and then moved to Bend, Oregon to work with Kevin setting up Cell Phone sales office locations. After a time, he decided to return to school and enrolled in the Univ. of Montana. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, emphasis on Information Technology. His first job was at a server farm in Seattle, WA. And from there he landed a job with Microsoft in Fargo, N.D where he worked for a year and then moved back to Seattle to work for Microsoft as a Technical Account Manager. One of the loves of his life was the city of Seattle. Darren loved everything about the city. He loved the food, especially Sushi, the people, and the life he lived there. He loved spending the summers rooting for the Mariners, eating raw oysters down at Pike Place Market, and watching the boats at the locks. During his time in Seattle, he excelled at his career, working for Microsoft, Amazon.com as a Program Manager for Mechanical Turk and ending up at a new startup called Mighty Al, (artificial intelligence) where he was a Sr. Solutions Architect.

During his time at Mighty Al he consulted with companies in Germany and it was there he met the love of his life, Dragana. Because he met his soulmate, he ended up transferring to Germany to work for Bosch. While working for Bosch it became necessary to renew his work visa. To do that he needed someone in authority at Bosch to write a letter to the agency extending the visa. The letter stated he had done very important work for them in the field of artificial intelligence and he was considered to be an integral part of the team. The letter was signed by 4 corporate officers at Bosch. He loved his life in Germany with Dragana, an ICU nurse. He was the life of every party. He and Dragana loved travelling around Europe enjoying the architecture and exploring different cultures and foods. The only thing he really missed was Taco Bell, O Darren was hilarious, charming and extremely intelligent. It was in Germany he became ill and was diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. He did a round of chemo which had no effect on the cancer. His wish was then to come back to the U.S. and spend what time he had left with his family. His brother Brian made the trip to Germany to help Darren return with Dragana, and their beloved dog Doggo and beloved cat Hank. His childhood wish was then granted. A lovely newly married couple gave up their duplex rental, and along with wonderful landlords, Mr. & Mrs. Dave Hyatt, provided a home so that Darren could live..... Right Next to His Mom & Dad.... Darren is survived by his love Dragana, Doggo, Hank, mom and dad, Peggy & Allen Orr, his brothers Greg (Cathy) and Brian, sisters Jennifer (Kurt) and Jaclyn (Jim). He is also survived by 12 nieces & nephews, aunts and uncles and cousins.