Gresham Orrison leaves indelible mark on the Morganton community

A community-oriented man. A founder. A downtown Morganton property owner. A conservationist. An ophthalmologist. A friend of Morganton Main Street’s program and a 2013 Main Street Champion. An animal shelter enthusiast. To some, a man of many keys.

Dr. William Gresham Orrison died on Wednesday morning, Jan. 15, at the age of 81.

He worked alongside his wife, Susie Hamrick Jones, who is a founding member of the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina. They were married in 2016.

Orrison was a founding partner of Morganton Eye Physicians, which began in 1974. He was an ophthalmologist for 40 years before his retirement in 2015. He also was a founding member of the Lake James Trails Association and the South Mountains Chapter of the Sierra Club.

He formerly served as a board member of the Burke County Friends for Animals; Burke Arts Council; and Morganton’s Planning and Zoning Commission. He also donated to local organizations like Options, Blue Ridge HealthCare Foundation, and others.

ANDREW KOTA — Executive Director, Foothills Conservancy of North CarolinaKota has known Orrison for more than 30 years, recalling how his friend became an instrumental part of conservation efforts in this region. He was also the eye doctor of his wife and sons.

Dry and Witty

“Humorous, direct, dry, witty, and kind. He was a very kind individual. He cared about this region. He cared about this community, and that’s manifested in his support for Foothills Conservancy. People don’t give to our mission unless they care about the natural landscape and some impact that can last for generations.

“He was very approachable. I’ve always found him extremely approachable and he always had time to give you just a minute and crack a joke.”

Funding Conservation Work

“He made possible several things that would not have been possible without him. He helped launch our summer fundraiser matching appeal. So many years ago, he started providing a Challenge Match contribution to our organization; he was willing to give to us and help us raise matching money.

“He helped us establish our summer fundraiser appeal, and his support continued to bolster that for 10 years or longer. I think what made him different as a supporter and donor of Foothills Conservancy, is that he really understood that helping us raise funds for our capacity (administrative/operational) was incredibly important because that’s what gave us the ability to do the conservation work and develop the project that we did “It’s because of that and because of his generosity that this organization has become what it is today.”

Catawba Falls

“One specific project that I’ll mention that is extremely important to this region that he directly helped fund was the Catawba Falls access property in McDowell County, outside of Old Fort (2009-2010). To purchase an incredibly important tract of land that provided access to the National Forest. We, in turn, transferred that land to the Pisgah National Forest to U.S. Forest Service ownership. They developed what is now the parking area and trailhead for Catawba Falls Trail.

“There are others, but that one is regionally important, and people to this day and for generations to come, will be able to explore and enjoy that beautiful trail and the waterfall that it leads to because of Dr. Orrison’s support.”

A Very Kind Memory

“He was my wife’s neighbor, growing up here in Morganton, right across the street from Gresham. She knew him from that perspective, and that’s how I first met him, long before I was associated with Foothills Conservancy. I used to sit with him and my wife and her mother, just in their living room chatting.

“I was young at the time, and my wisdom teeth were impacted and got infected, and Gresham wrote me a prescription to help relieve some of that swelling and pain before I could get those taken out. So that’s something that stuck with me. He helped me out personally, way back when. … I felt indebted to him for that, and it was probably nothing for him and he was happy to do it, but it meant so much to me.”

WENDY CATO — Morganton Councilwoman and Real Estate AgentFor 20-plus years, Cato has known Orrison personally and professionally in the real estate business.

Entrepreneurial Spirit

“Gresham’s concerns about the environment and community were always concerns that he became involved in but quietly. He believed in preserving land. He believed in acquiring and taking care of structures and buildings in our downtown, as well as outside of the downtown, in the county.

He was an entrepreneur when folks weren’t being entrepreneurs. He believed in partnerships. He worked with other entrepreneurs and real estate folks to make sure when things were purchased, they were taken care of and were passed on.”

Lasting Impact

“His impact, in my thought process, was when High Peak Mountain was being bought up by a Charlotte real estate company. He owned a lot of property in that area. He looked at me and said, ‘Wendy, it’s important that we don’t sell things for profit, but that we ensure that they will be here for the future.’’’

Favorite Memory

“My favorite memory of Gresham is once he retired from Morganton, he would walk downtown, and he always had a set of keys that kind of hung off his hip. You always knew that Gresham was coming because you could hear those keys.”

SHARON JABLONSKI — Morganton Main Street

Since the early 1990s, Jablonski has known him as a friend of Main Street, a property owner in downtown Morganton, and a supporter of businesses.

Business Support

“What I learned through the years is he was very much a supporter of entrepreneurs and businesspeople. I know of times when he would not charge rent or would charge a very low rent to help them get going or get started, or whenever they needed help. I believe he was my first property owner who worked with me on putting awnings up for the buildings to try and bring some color throughout downtown and coverage because that way it’s easier to walk from business to business if it’s raining. He was known for when he bought a building, one of the first things he did was always make sure it had a new roof. He helped me redo the building or he would redo the building for people who are going into business.

“We didn’t always see eye to eye, but that’s not uncommon. I can honestly say that he really did like to help businesses get in business, and he felt that he was in a position to do that, and he took that very seriously. … With his presence in downtown, and his assistance with helping people get into businesses is so greatly missed.”

Man of Keys

“Probably one of the funniest things about Gresham — my husband always reminds me of it because he worked with him — is that he must have carried 200 keys on key chains and was forever looking for the right key. It was hysterical. I’ve never seen a man with so many keys to buildings.”

Services and obituaries will follow in subsequent coverage.