Funeral services for longtime Cortez resident Orin Albert Albin Jr. were held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, at Ertel Memorial Chapel. Interment will follow at Cortez Cemetery. Military honors were provided by Montezuma County V.F.W. Post #5231.
He passed away on Thursday, April 4, 2013.
Orin Albert Albin Jr. was born December 25, 1916, the son of Orin Albert Albin Sr. and Bessie Hacket in Waverly, Mo. At the tender age of two, Jr. lost his mother and infant sister in the great flu epidemic of 1918. Jr. and his older sister Ruth went to Missouri to live with the mother's parents as Orin was sick. When Jr.'s dad recovered he went to Missouri and brought his two kids home to San Luis Valley, Colo. Jr.'s dad married Lucille Jane Baier. There Jr. graduated from Alamosa High School and grew to manhood. He worked at Ford Auto Parts. That is where he met a man who taught him the shoe repair trade.
Jr. was drafted in the U.S. Army in 1941 and was trained in Camp Weaver, Va. On December 23, 1942 he was shipped overseas to Oran, North Africa, then to a rest camp at Kasserine Pass, North Africa. The first night he was there he was put on guard duty. He was supposed to be relieved at midnight and nobody came. He stayed until 8 am went back to the barracks and nobody was there. His company pulled out without him. He was the last of 250 men. He then was captured and became a prisoner of war for 22 months. All he had were the clothes on his back and a thin blanket. He was in a large group of men, and the only food he had were leftovers from other people's scraps. While they marched across Europe, they picked up many other prisoners from other countries. Food became hard to find, and many prisoners died and were left where they fell. They ended up at Stalag 38 at Versburg, Germany, north of Berlin. They were rationed a cup of soup per day made of potatoes, barley, and water. He held the thought, "This is a terrible war, but it is the war to end all wars."
Jr. came home when the war was over and married Ollie Elliott Holman, who had two children, Ray Dean Holman and Dixie Holman Veach Foutz. Together they had Elliott Baier Albin. They farmed in the Mildred area and worked in the Nu-way shoe shop and repair for many years. They also owned a shoe shop and repair in Montrose, Colo., three different stores in Colorado Springs, and one in Summerville, Tex. After retirement he lived in Huntsville, Tex. and Cortez.
Preceding Jr. in death are his parents, Orin Sr. and Bessie Hacket Albin and Lucile Jane Albin; his sister, Ruth Goldsby; and two sons, Ray Dean Holman and Elliott Albin. Surviving is his wife, Ollie Rose Elliott; his daughter, Dixie (Loyd) Veach Foutz; his grandchildren, Kim Ritter of Indiana, Lucas and Travis Claycomb, Casey and Lexy Veach, Kellie Veach Beyers, and Corey Veach; his grandson-in-law, Larry (Shaunna) Claycomb; seven great grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren. He will be surely missed by many.
Services are under the direction of Ertel Funeral Home. For further information or to send condolences, log on to www.ertelfuneralhome.com and click on the obituary section.
