North Pomfret, Vermont

Orson Luer St. John, Jr. loved life. Orson was a loving husband, father and grandfather, and friend who passed away unexpectedly on January 28, 2021, while recouping from heart surgery in Cambridge, MA. He was 83 years young. Orson was born in New York City on August 4, 1937 to Orson Luer St. John and Joy Ivey Dickerman St. John and grew up in Greenwich, CT. He graduated from The Choate School in Wallingford, CT in 1955, attended Middlebury College and graduated from Ripon (Wis.) College in 1960. Orson went on to attend the Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of Chicago (1962). After travelling the world for several months with his good friend Mike Marshall, Orson enlisted with the US Army, stationed in Fort Benning GA, before ultimately taking a job with IBM in White Plains, NY. Shortly thereafter, he met the love of his life Tania Elizabeth Graydon Carr and they were wed on April 4, 1964. After spending the first years of their lives in New York and Greenwich, CT, Orson and Tania, in 1966, bought the farm in North Pomfret, VT and moved there permanently in 1976, at which point he began his business brokerage career focusing on small market mergers and acquisitions. However, the farm and the outdoors were his true passions and he so loved raising the Beefalo, took pride in working the land and he loved skiing, which he continued to do right up to his passing. After Tania passed away in 2000, following a courageous battle with cancer, he met Connie Anderson who has been his loving companion since. Beyond the farm and skiing, he also loved golf, football games, attending Northern Stage performances, his men's group The Round Table, serving on the Pomfret Planning Commission, conserving and preserving Vermont's beauty. Above all else, he loved his family, their family gatherings, reunions and watching his grandchildren grow up. Orson made friends easily, and all who knew him valued their time together. His easy smile, spontaneous laugh and sense of humor will keep him alive in our hearts forever.

Orson is predeceased by his wife of 36 years and survived by his loving partner Connie Anderson of Hanover, NH, his three sisters, Cora Alice Gebhardt, Cornelia Lewis, and Ivey St. John, his three children, George St. John (wife Tami St. John) of Littleton, CO, Biria St. John (wife Elaina St. John) of Boxford, MA and Meg Gally (husband Brian Gally) of Los Gatos, CA along with seven grandchildren; George St. John Jr., Tania St. John, William St. John, Nolan St. John, Caroline St. John, Hannah Gally and Emma Gally, as well as many nieces and nephews who loved him dearly.

There will be a private ceremony for the immediate family and the family will celebrate Orson's life later this summer or fall on his beloved farm in North Pomfret, VT with family and friends In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Orson's name to Northern Stage ( https://northernstage.org/support-us/ )