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I was born 2 June, 1949 in Baltimore City, Maryland, the only
child of Reverdy Lewin Orrell, Jr. and Jean Catherine Malle. I attended public
school and graduated from Baltimore City College High School in 1967, later
graduating from the University of Maryland Baltimore County Campus
(UMBC) with a
B.A. degree in Social Work and Sociology. Later I briefly studied Criminal
Justice in the Master's program at the
University of
Baltimore.
I was first married in July, 1970. That marriage produced
one son, Reverdy Lewin Orrell, IV. He also graduated from UMBC with a
degree in history. Reb IV has always been interested in history with the
War Between The States as his main interest. He is constantly
working out and pursues his interests with power lifting and
bodybuilding. His photo section is
here and photos of his son,
Jackson Reverdy Orrell, are
here.
On November 13, 1999, I
married Nora Skerry,
formerly of Ellicott City, Maryland. We reside in Riviera Beach, Anne Arundel County, Maryland
with our two dogs Brandi (Cocker Spaniel) and Cheyanne (Sheltie). Our
previous cocker,
Lacey,
passed away in April, 2004.
From 1970 to 1976 I was actively involved with playing the game
of chess. I participated in many tournaments for various chess
correspondence organizations. My favorite was the
Knights of the Square
Table (NOST) where I learned several chess variation games and served as
their Chess Variants and Non Chess Games Tournament Director. During that
time I became interested in chess problems. For several years I wrote an
article for their publication entitled 'Reb's Retazos.' Retazos is
a Spanish word meaning 'odds and ends.' The focus was on 'odd end
games' for various chess variants. I also serve as webmaster for
the
StrateGems.org chess problem website.
My Masonic affiliations are noted elsewhere. I am pleased
to be a Past Master of Palestine Lodge No. 189 and a Past Sovereign Master of
Southern Cross Council No. 264,
Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States of
America. I have also served as Secretary / Treasurer of several other
Masonic bodies. In November, 2004, I joined Martinsburg
Moose Lodge #120.
My interest in genealogy began in 1985. Shortly afterwards
I founded the Orrell Family Association and began writing the Orrell Family
Association Newsletter. For many years I hosted the Orrell Family
Reunion. My main genealogy database program was, for
many years, Personal Ancestry File
(PAF). In 2006, I switched to
Roots Magic.
A six generation ancestral chart appears on my
genealogy page.
I am the webmaster of the
Orrell Family
Association website and co-author a
genealogy
blog with Robert Stanley Orrell.
In May, 2001, Nora and I purchased a vacation /
resort / retirement home in Hedgesville, West Virginia. The
house is in a resort community know as 'The Woods'. Our first
cabin was called
'Chocolate Mousse
I'.
'Chocolate Mousse' is Nora's favorite dessert. Whenever she
eats it she always says, "This is heaven". In June, 2004, we
purchased 'Chocolate
Mousse II',
about three blocks away from the first cabin.
In November, 2002, I started
Reb's Web
Design & Computer Tech Support.
I have a
religious blog on this website. Also, here is my list of
bible books.
In June, 2008, the
company I worked for had a cutback and I was let go after 15 years.
At that time I became 'semi-retired' and decided to concentrate on
my website
design & computer tech support.
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