CHANDLER van ORMAN

1941 - 2021

van ORMAN CHANDLER LEE van ORMAN Chandler Lee van Orman, 80, of Washington, DC and Ogunquit, Maine, passed away on May 10, 2021, surrounded by loved ones, including his stepson, Howard, daughter, Robin, and the love of his life, his wife Betsy, who was by his side for the last 22 years. Born in Chicago, January 15, 1941, to Marine Colonel Ellsworth George and Mary Elizabeth Chandler van Orman, the happiest times of Chandler's early life were spent surfing in La Jolla, CA. Chandler attended Army-Navy Academy in Carlsbad, CA. He spent a summer in Taiwan where his father advised their military strategy against a potential Chinese invasion. Chandler graduated from George Washington High School ('58) in Alexandria, VA, as class president and football team captain. He graduated from UNC Chapel Hill ('68), and law school at UVA, where he was a founding (and hall of fame) member of the Rugby Football Club. During his long legal career in Washington, D.C. he worked for Wheeler and Wheeler, U.S. Agency for International Development, President's Salary Committee, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., and the Nuclear Energy Institute. Chandler became one of the main educators to public officials and organized labor on nuclear power benefits, and the safe disposal of nuclear waste. Chandler also served as the Lead Advance Man for President Ronald Reagan, and other presidents and Vice Presidents. An avid sailor, he loved and won hard fought off-shore races, especially aboard the Marythought. Chandler lived larger than life and his stories were the stuff of legends, but they didn't need to be, because accented with sound effects and the rolling beat of his thumbs on the dinner table, he could have you riveted about taking the recycling out. Mr. van Orman is survived by his daughter Robin, his son Cameron, and four grandchildren, as well as his sister, Bethany, and his stepchildren, Howard, Betsy and Joshua. A memorial service was held in the same garden where he married Betsy Gambrill Clark. But his journey does not end there, as he lives on in all our hearts and smiles. Donations in memory of Chandler L van Orman may be made to The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire, 121 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA 02108-1104