Orrange, William

(1935 – 2022)

Samer Abdel Ghafour – October 2023

Click on the picture above to open the staff profile page on MZ Sitewide

Memories
Bill’s friends
- James L. Walker
- Mary T. Stancavage
Obituary

Memories


Bill touring offsite, Tell Mozan, Syria, 2007. Photo by James Walker.	Bill and Barbara Aliens, Tell Mozan, Syria, 2008 Photo by James Walker.	Bill and Rasha, Tell Mozan, Syria, 2007. Photo by James Walker.

Bill’s friends

James L. Walker

Bill joined the Mozan team as a volunteer, willing to do any task. His limited mobility hindered fieldwork, but he became indispensable in the laboratory, first as an expert in small finds and later as the curator of the numerous digital photographs accumulated over a season.

Bill always joined the excavators for a pre-dawn breakfast that featured filter coffee he brought from his home, and then he went to the windowless photo lab for a day’s work while the rest of us enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine. He was an active participant in all professional activities. He frequently joined field trips to nearby archaeological sites, taking notes on their excavations, and attended each of the Mozan archaeology discussions. Bill also worked off-season in the UCLA Mesopotamia Lab curating photos from previous seasons.

Bill was a key part of the social life at Mozan and could usually be found on trips to Qamishli. He was a spirited participant in theme and birthday parties. More importantly he was a friend to all, particularly the new, young members just joining the team, helping them adjust to demanding jobs in a strange new environment.

Mary T. Stancavage

Our dear friend and colleague, William (Bill) Orrange, passed away on February 6, 2022, and will be greatly missed. Bill joined the staff at Tell Mozan in 2004 and played an important role as Director of the Photographic Archive, both in the field, and at home after excavations ceased. Bill was instrumental organizing the pre-digital photos to insure an accurate digital photographic record of the earlier seasons. His dedication and skill have made a tremendous impact on the record and our work.

Bill was always interested in history and archaeology. He studied Classics at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY and continued with graduate studies at UCLA. He took numerous Extension and Continuing Education courses through UCLA and Stanford and began his fieldwork in 1998 at various sites in Europe and the Middle East. We were lucky that he landed at Tell Mozan and found a home with us.

Bill was always a joy to be with. He had an interest in so many things and could be counted on to be an active participant in any conversation. He was a great sport as well and never missed one of our themed costume parties; his imagination and sense of humor were a delight.

We’re especially grateful to Bill’s sons for their generous donation to IIMAS in Bill’s name, and we are looking into the best way both to utilize the funds and honor Bill.

Obituary

Here is a link with the notice of Williams’s obituary.