Betty Orr

Obituary For Betty Orr

Ms. Betty Kathleen Gentry Orr, 79, of 4900 N. Roxboro Rd. Durham, died Wednesday, March 23, at JFK Towers, in her sleep after battling stage four lung cancer. Born Apr 14, 1936, in Waco, Kentucky, she was a daughter of Leon Gentry and Mary Francis Gentry Kavanaugh. Her mother moved the family to Portsmouth, Ohio when Betty was very young. Betty received her formal education at Washington Elementary, and Portsmouth High. She continued her education by enrolling in Erma Lee’s Cosmetology School, Cleveland, Ohio, where she became a Licensed Cosmetologist. She then went on to obtain her Manager’s license. Betty then set off for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, met and married Eddie Orr. Together they owned a soul-food restaurant, two child care facilities, plus Betty owned her own beauty shop. After thirty-six years in Wisconsin, and a divorce, Betty finally decided to relocate to Durham, North Carolina – to be closer to her one and only son. She settled into JFK Towers, where she met a group of faithful friends. She was elected President of the JFK Association. Betty joined Union Baptist Church, and was an active Sunday member. She enjoyed going to the movies, dancing, having fun, eating good food, playing cards, and traveling all over the U.S., to include overseas. Betty Orr was preceded in death by her parents Leon Gentry and Mary Francis Gentry Kavanaugh, and step-father Wade Cavanaugh, and oldest brother, Thomas L. Gentry. She leaves to cherish her memory her special son, Thomas Cortez Gentry (Gracie), and a beautiful niece, Jill Green, from Miami, FL, (Ronald), a brother Curtis Gentry, Greensboro, NC, 2 sisters, Mary Hamilton of Detroit, MI, and Mary Campbell (Ben), Richmond, KY, 3 granddaughters, Royal, Vanitee and Velvet, 1 great grandson, “Tariq”, and a host of nieces, and nephews, and many many friends. Funeral services will consist of a viewing beginning at 11:00 a.m. to noon. A memorial service will follow immediately, noon to 1:00 pm, today, April 2, 2016 at Holloway Memorial Funeral Home, 2502 NC Hwy 55 Durham, NC 27713. Repast follows immediately afterward at JFK Towers (Community Room) 4900 N. Roxboro Road Durham, NC 27704.

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