Orris Rich

View Video Tribute Mr. Orris Terry Rich, age 75, of Greenville, passed away Friday evening, Jan. 20, 2006 at Spectrum Health-Kent Community Campus, Grand Rapids. The son of Wellington B. & Bernice E. (Terry) Rich, he was born on April 6, 1930 near Wolverton Plains in Montcalm Township. As a teenager, Orris was afflicted with polio and underwent many surgeries to correct his spine. Despite his ailments, he worked hard at the former Ranney Refrigerator Company (Northland Corporation) as a repairman, physically moving refrigerators off and on the production line. He retired in 1991. On Sept. 26, 1958, at the Clear Lake United Brethren Church, he married Mary L. Branton. Over the years they attended the First Baptist Church in Greenville, as well as Shiloh Community Church. Blessed with the natural skill of an engineer, Orris could design and then build almost anything he set this mind to. He also enjoyed wood carving, drawing, and painting and was a collector of many things, including tools and knives. Surviving are his wife of 47 years, Mary L. Rich; their two children, Brenda & Jim Thompson of Greenville, and Gary & Tracy Rich of Belding; four grandchildren, Eric Rich, Jessica Thompson, James M. Thompson II, and Marcus Rich; a brother, Francis & Fern Rich of Cheyenne, Wyoming; a sister, Gertrude Trudy Kelley of Gladwin; siblings-in-law, Eleanor Schaeffer of Stanton, Don Branton of Texas, and Bill Branton of Alabama; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006 at Shiloh Community Church, with Pastors Ken Harger and Rob Atkinson, officiating. Burial will follow at Woodard Lake Cemetery. Visitation is Tuesday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Brown-Teman & Christiansen Funeral Home, 511 S. Franklin Street, Greenville. Envelopes for memorial contributions to Shiloh Community Church will be available at the funeral home. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Orris Rich, please visit our flower store.