DEVOTED mother and grandmother Violet Orr has died, just 11 days after celebrating her 100th birthday.
Mrs Orr, who was born Violet Thom, was a dedicated member of Charlotte Baptist Chapel for more than 60 years.
She was born in Edinburgh on 12 June 1909, and had lived in the Capital for most of her life. Her mother died giving birth to her younger
sister when she was just two years old, leaving her father to bring up the six children alone.
Mrs Orr inherited her love of music from her father, who was a gifted organist. He worked as an insurance agent, managing to juggle his work with caring for his large family.
After finishing school, the young Mrs Orr began working in Nelson's Printworks, which has since closed down. She met Bill Orr there, and the couple were married in 1933. They have two children, a son, Bill and a daughter, Dorothy.
Her husband went to war in 1939, as a dispatch rider in the Royal Signals. He returned home from France early to recuperate from a war wound and later returned to the Army.
It was during this time that Mrs Orr became a committed Christian, and joined Charlotte Baptist Chapel in the city centre in 1944. Mr Orr found this difficult to deal with, and the couple's differences eventually led to their divorce in the 1940s.
Her family said she spent most of her life devoted to her children Dorothy and Bill, and she worked hard to bring them up on her own. While they were growing up, she cleaned in grand family homes to help make ends meet.
The church continued to play an important role in her life, and she enjoyed singing in various different missionary churches throughout her life. She was very proud when her son decided to train as a minister, and Dorothy married a minister.
She was also devoted to her five grandchildren and her ten great-grandchildren.
Mrs Orr lived at Crofthead House Nursing Home in Fauldhouse, West Lothian, for the last few years of her life. She was the last survivor of her siblings, having seen her four sisters and one brother pass away.
On 12 June, she celebrated her 100th birthday at the home with many of her family, as well as the Lord Provost George Grubb.
At the time her son Bill paid tribute to her unwavering dedication and love for her family.
He said: "She was a loving, caring mother who throughout her life has been selfless. She was a remarkable woman who has always been contented and who never asked for anything."
Peter Grainger, senior pastor at Charlotte Baptist Chapel, said she had been one of the longest serving members of the congregation.
He said: "She was a remarkable woman. Her mother died when she was very young, so she had to be independent from a young age. She did an amazing job bringing up her children on her own.
"The church was a very important part of her life, and she will be very much missed by us all."
A memorial service will be held for Mrs Orr on Monday.
The full article contains 534 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
