Dr. John R. Orie passed away peacefully on June 25, surrounded by his family and loved ones. He was a lifelong resident of Allegheny County and a 60-year parishioner of Saint Aidan Catholic Church, formerly Saint Alexis. Dr. Orie’s deep Catholic faith was the foundation of his life, and he attended daily Mass, was a Eucharistic Minister until he was 97 years old and lived his faith life every day. 

      Dr. Orie was born and raised in the Polish Hill section of Pittsburgh. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical College. Doc Orie was a 55-year pioneer physician with UPMC Passavant hospital when it was first located in the Hill District of Pittsburgh when it was formerly called Passavant Hospital. He was a family physician. When Doc retired 25 years ago, his office visits were five dollars, and he still made house calls. He encouraged everyone in the community to get the health care they needed. If they could not afford it, he told his patients not to worry about paying him and provided free medical care. 

      On his days off (Thursdays), he would take a handful of the Orie kids to the inner-city schools, communities and clinics, where he would provide free health care to those who could not afford it.  

       The Orie children thought their father was amazing because he spent this quality time with his kids as busy as he was. Dr. Orie volunteered to do physicals throughout his medical career for athletes attending inner-city schools and at North Catholic High School for its football and basketball teams. He also volunteered to be the team doctor for the Duquesne University football team. In 1996, Dr. Orie came out of retirement to work in his late daughter, Dr. Judith Orie’s (nuclear cardiologist) medical office.    

      In May, Doc celebrated his 99th Birthday with a “Neighborhood Birthday Parade” on Montgomery Road where he resided for 67 years. He received official proclamations from former President Donald Trump, Senator Patrick Toomey, Congressman Conor Lamb, PA State Senator Lindsey Williams; PA House of Representatives Rob Mercuri, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Councilwoman Cynthia Kirk, City of Pittsburgh Councilman Corey O’Connor and Bishop David Zubik honoring his milestone 99th birthday and for being a “community hero.”  

       On May 10, Dr. Orie received the distinguished lifelong McCandless Citizen Award of Recognition by the McCandless Township Council. In addition, on May 11, UPMC Passavant Hospital President Susan Hoolahan and Passavant Foundation Chair, Dr. Daniel R. Sullivan honored Dr. Orie with an official proclamation for his outstanding medical contribution to the medical community and the community at large, as a physician for well over 55 years, and as a “pioneer physician” at UPMC Passavant. Finally, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical School jointly honored Dr. Orie as a distinguished alumnus. 

       The Pittsburgh Penguins honored Dr. Orie with an official Penguins jersey with the number 99 and his name, Dr. Orie, on the jersey’s back.         

     Dr. Orie and the late, Jean Lally Orie had nine children and 17 grandchildren. May he rest in peace! 

Each year it is Northern Connection’s pleasure to introduce you to the business and professional men in our area.  They come from many different industries and specialties, and each brings his own expertise and experience to make them the best at their chosen profession.

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Each year it is Northern Connection’s pleasure to introduce you to the business and professional women in our area.  They come from many different industries and specialties, and each brings her own expertise and experience to make them the best at their chosen profession.

CLICK HERE to to read all about these amazing women.

After a long year of the kids being cooped up inside staring at screens, parents will be itching to find ways to safely get them out of the house this summer. Look no further than Shady Side Academy, which offers plenty of fun, affordable, in-person summer programs on its three expansive campuses in Fox Chapel!

Knowing that safety is at the top of every parent’s mind, SSA is taking everything it learned from a successful 20-21 in-person school year and bringing it to its summer programs.  A comprehensive set of COVID-19 health and safety protocols grounded in current public health guidance will be in place, including daily health screenings and temperature checks, masks, social distancing, limited enrollments, small camp squads, and plenty of outdoor activity and exercise.

Designed with working parents in mind, SSA’s full-day camps include free lunch and before-care, plus optional paid after-care. A North Hills bus makes transportation a snap.

SSA offers three age-specific day camps for kids entering grades PK-9, with six weekly sessions from June 21-July 30, 2021:

• NEW for 2021! North Hills Adventurers (grades PK-1) takes place on SSA Country Day School’s 17-acre wooded campus. Kids explore nature and play games in SSA’s unique treehouse classroom and its trails, gardens, playgrounds and fields.

• Day Camp Discovery (grades 2-5) takes place on SSA Senior School’s 130-acre college-like campus. Kids enjoy a full day of activities such as swimming, tennis, outdoor adventure, theater and more.

• Camp Ren (grades 6-9) is designed specifically for older kids and takes place on the 35-acre SSA Middle School campus. Campers enjoy greater autonomy and cool activities such as robotics, rocketry, filmmaking and ceramics.

In addition, SSA offers a variety of weeklong sports and focus camps for kids entering grades K-8. Camps include basketball, golf, tennis, ice hockey, general sports & games, mindfulness, performing arts and more.

SSA’s Summer School features small classes and individualized attention from the area’s finest teachers. Students in grades 2-8 can brush up on their math and language arts skills, and a Stay & Play option allows them to pair summer school with day camp for a full day of learning and fun. High school offerings include for-credit courses and college essay writing workshops.

For information or to register, visit www.shadysideacademy.org/summer or call 412-447-2230.

“Be so good they can’t ignore your” – Steve Martin

In this, our June issue, we celebrate local businessmen from variety of industries and professionals who are so good, you should not ignore them. Northern Connection is pleased to introduce you to them in this year’s Men in Business Feature.

CLICK HERE to read more.