‘A lovely, kind, caring man’ – the daughter of Sunderland grandfather and keen cricketer, Colin Orr, pays tribute following his death

Helen Ormond, has paid tribute to her dad, Colin Orr, who lived in Cavendish Place in New Silksworth, describing him as a lovely, kind, caring man.

Colin married his wife Monica, aged 85, on September 22, 1956, with the couple having two children, Helen, aged 61 and Martin, who sadly passed away in 2014 – the couple also have five grandchildren.

He undertook national service in the Royal Air Force between 1950 and 1952 before training as a teacher and working at South Hylton Junior Mixed and Mill Hill Primary School.

Helen, who now lives in Farnham, reflected on how Colin was as a grandfather and revealed how he became known for his baking skills following his early retirement.

She said: “He was involved in a lot of different things so he was a very determined man but he was also very caring, lovely and kind.

“He was very interested in all of his grandchildren and whatever they were doing, he would often come down to London where we’d have nice family holidays together.

"I think that he retired at the age of 54 and decided to take up baking, as a result of which, he was always taking cakes to places like the library.

"Everybody knew him for Colin’s famous gingerbread biscuits.”

Despite his excellent baking skills, Colin was most known for being a stalwart of local cricket, playing for Silksworth and Boldon Cricket Clubs. He also held the role of Secretary of the Durham Senior Cricket League from 1961-1983.

He also served on the committee of Durham County Cricket Club between 1981 and 1989.

Helen added: “He was very passionate about cricket, it was his life – I remember going to Ryhope Cricket Club to collect the final score so he could phone it into the Echo.

"He would just spend hours playing or watching cricket and being involved with all the different organisations surrounding it.”

A funeral service for Colin will be held at Middle Herrington Methodist Church on November 11.

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