Michael Orinick 1915-1994

Matthew and Anna's 5th child was their first son.  Although we knew him as Mike and most of his documents say Michael, I was told that his baptismal certificate lists him as Stephen.  There are other errors in his documents as well, such as the Florida Death Index listing his birth date as 22 Oct instead of 2 Oct.  For all the children in this family there is a similar pattern of different birth and baptismal names and different birth dates.  I believe he was born on Oct 2nd and baptized on Oct 22nd.   As a boy he worked the farm with his father.  He married Catherine Carnie on Oct 15, 1938 and had a farm not far from his parent's farm.  Around 1940 they gave up farming and moved to New Jersey to work for Otis Elevator.  They lived at 96 Burnett St Newark, NJ in 1945.

From 1940 to 1945 he worked as a machinist for Otis Elevator Co. in Harrison, NJ.  According to what he told me in 1993, his job was to lay out blue prints, set up and operate turret and engine lathes, shapers, planer, milling machine, grinders and drill presses; to make jigs fixtures and parts for elevators and guns.  He also assembled parts used for machinist tools and measuring devices, working to tolerance of .0005 inches on grinders.   Since I am not a machinist, I probably have written some of this incorrectly, but this is from my notes at that visit.  Maybe someone reading this will straighten me out.

Mike received orders to Report for Induction into the Army on June 22, 1945, Order # 2665.  On July 6, 1945 he reported to the Sussex Avenue Armory, Sussex Ave & Jay St, Newark, NJ and enlisted.  He spent  1.5 months as PVT Basic 521, 5 months S Sgt Auto Mech 965 and 6 Monnths S Sgt Maint Sgt 413.   He received an honorable discharge December 27, 1946, as Staff Sergeant # 42 155 899, Headquarters Detachment 19th Ordinance Battalion, Fort Dix, NJ.   During his service he spent 8 months 12 days in continental service and 9 months 10 days in foreign service.   He received the Army of Occupation Medal & the World War II Victory Medal.

When I spoke to Mike in 1993, he told me that he was wounded by a mine in Germany, but I haven't found the record of his receiving a purple heart.  On Dec 6 1946 there is a record of his first disability benefits claim, 10% or more disabled.  Since this is 21 days prior to his discharge, I do believe the injury was sustained in WWII.  In 1948 Mike was in Kingsbridge Veterans Hospital, Bronx, NY for a spinal fusion. I saw records of complaints of back problems throughout the rest of his life.  

In 1993 he was a member of the Disabled American Vererans Sunshine City Chapter 09009L28690, the American Legion Legion FLO 8002-5340, the Vererans of Foreign Wars post 531 no 728238, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles No 4035

After his discharge and rehabilitation he and Kate went back to Honesdale, PA where he got into construction.   He built and sold several houses in the area.  Eventually, they moved to Rochester, NY and developed a construction business there. When they retired they moved to Florida, where they remained the rest of their lives. I remember Mike and Kate having a boisterous relationship,  with lots of yelling, yet they stayed together for 47 years.  They never had any children.   Kate died in 1985 and Mike married Genevive Seprish on Feb 14, 1987.   

Mike's relationship with Gen doesn't appear to have been much calmer than he had with Kate. They divorced on Feb 28, 1989 after 2 years of marriage, but continued to see each other.  They remarried on July 17, 1990 and divorced again sometime after I met her in 1993.  Around 1994 he went into the hospital for prostrate surgery.  They did the first operation, then rushed him in for a second operation at midnight the same night.  He recovered but lost much of his memory after that. Gen remarried him then while he was in the nursing home, took him home and took care of him until early 1994. His dementia continued to worsen however, until one day he drove off in his car and was found hours later, not knowing who he was, where he was or where he was going. He was placed in the hospital again and remained there until he died in June, 1994. Gen stuck by him, visiting daily until the end.