A pioneering feminist, co founder of WiSP

MALDEN — Carol Wallace Orr of Malden passed away January 12, 2023.  She was 89 years of age.  Born in Newton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Mary Stigler and Barton Stuart Wallace, Ms. Orr grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, where she graduated from Needham High School in the class of 1951.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Douglass College, Rutgers University, Ms. Orr followed a career in book publishing, holding several posts including that of assistant director at Princeton University Press and director of the University of Tennessee Press.

A pioneering feminist in the scholarly publishing world, Ms. Orr was a co-founder in 1979 of Women in Scholarly Publishing (WiSP) and served as the national feminist organization’s first president.  In 1987, she was given the Women’s National Book Association’s WNBA Book Woman Award.

An activist in university press publishing, Ms. Orr was the first woman to be elected president of the Association of American University Presses in its fiftieth-anniversary year.  She also served for four years as secretary-general of the International Association of Scholarly Publishers.

Following her retirement from book publishing, Ms. Orr took up a career as an aerobics instructor, specializing in total body fitness for seniors. She also enjoyed spending time with her lush gardens, searching through estate sales for treasures, and time spent with her dear friend and sister Sally.  Recently Ms. Orr worked with neighbors to create a city CPA project named Crescent Sloop in the wooden area across from her home.  Ms. Orr greatly enjoyed traveling the world and soaking up the culture, sights, and sounds of each land she visited.  She was an avid supporter of PETA, the DNC and Daughters of the Feminist Revolution.  A beautiful tapestry of a rich life that touched many.

Ms. Orr was preceded in death by her son Ross Wallace Orr, and is survived by her daughter Brett Amanda Orr Markel, of Cream Ridge, NJ, twin granddaughters Carol Samaniego of Woodbridge, VA and Christine Illes of East Windsor NJ, and grandson Ross Alan Archer of Fort Collins, Colorado, her dearly beloved sister Sally Wallace Frank of Malden, Massachusetts, and nephews Calvin Frank (Britten Kilduff) of Malden, and Adam Frank (Danielle Forbes) of Somerville, and her much treasured and loved cat Oliver.

Services will be announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Carol may be made to the Narcolepsy Network, https://narcolepsynetwork.org/ Go North Animal Transport, https://gonorthtransport.org/ or the Melrose Humane Society, PO Box 760668, Melrose, MA. 02176 or https://melrosehumanesociety.org/

For online tribute, please visit RobinsonFuneralHome.com