To describe Scioto County in southern Ohio as humble is an understatement. The rural county in the southeast corner of the state, nestled between West Virginia to the east and Kentucky to the south, offers little in terms of education or opportunities. But for Ed Orlett '61, the hardships of the region and his mother’s struggle forever embedded him with his professional values and work ethic.

“Born into very poor surroundings in 1933 amidst the Depression, I received a lot of support from my mother. She worked very hard to put me through high school,” Orlett said. 

Orlett’s mother, Mary Edith Orlett, worked as a house cleaner and did laundry to make ends meet for the both of them as Ed completed his secondary education at Wheelersburg High School – a small rural country school.

“She didn’t have a lot of formal education. That was another reason why she put so much emphasis on why I should have an education,” Orlett said.

After high school, Orlett ventured to work for General Motors and was drafted into the U.S. Army. Upon returning from being overseas with the Army, he decided to pursue a college education as he qualified for the G.I. Bill education benefits thanks to his service. When it came time to pick a college, he prioritized taking care of his mother and getting a quality education – in that order – and for both, Kettering University (then General Motors Institute) presented the best opportunity.

Ed Orlett '61 (left) with Robert Kennedy.

Balancing College and Family

After graduating from high school in 1951, Orlett had to search outside his insulated upbringing in rural Ohio to seek employment and for that he turned 140 miles northwest to Dayton to General Motors Delco Products Division.

“There wasn’t that much in the way of work in my locale and it was time to start helping my mother,” Orlett said.  “I was bookkeeper at the flour mill for a few weeks before heading for Dayton and GM.”

Although Orlett qualified academically for college, he could not come up with the funds necessary to pursue a post-secondary education. Instead, Orlett worked as a toolmaker apprentice at Delco before being drafted into the Army where he served as a communications specialist in Germany for two years.

Ed Orlett '61

Upon returning from his military service, Orlett renewed the toolmaker apprenticeship program at Delco Products. To improve his qualifications for college he enrolled at Dayton Patterson Night School where he met Henry Dexter, an instructor and mentor who understood his personal and professional situation and was well aware of the possibilities at GMI. Dexter was also employed at Delco Products where Orlett was working on his apprenticeship

“Near the end of my courses he asked me where I was going to college. He asked if I had thought of GMI saying, ‘It’s a good engineering school where you can work part-time and still help your mother,’” Orlett said. “The bells rang and the lights shined in the heaven. In about a week to 10 days, Henry helped me enroll.”

With funding assistance from the G.I. Bill and the opportunity to alternate between working in Dayton for his co-op term and studying in Flint, Orlett began his education at Kettering as a 24-year-old freshman in the fall of 1957.

“I was impressed by everything that I read even then about GMI,” Orlett said. “It appealed to me as a toolmaker apprentice and working in a General Motors factory, it seemed to combine everything that I was doing.”

Inspired by his mother’s Catholic faith and his own upbringing in the church, Orlett was involved in the Newman Chapel (Catholic organization on secular campuses) at Kettering and in 1962 became the national president of the organization, which provided him the opportunity to meet Robert Kennedy at a national convention. The political climate in the 1960s and specifically the Kennedy family would continually inspire Orlett and lay the foundation for his political career in the years to come.

Catching the “Political Bug”

Orlett graduated from Kettering in 1961 with a degree in Mechanical and Process Engineering. He completed his co-op placement at Delco Products in Dayton, where he worked for another five years after graduating. After that he pursued an opportunity with Monsato’s nuclear laboratory near Dayton and also enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Dayton.

“The reason I left [Delco Products] was for economic reasons. I was trying to help my mother,” Orlett said.

While working, Orlett’s “political bug,” the one he had caught in 1960 during John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign and eventual victory in the national election, had resurfaced. In 1967, Orlett was elected city councilman in Trotwood, Ohio, a small suburb west of Dayton.

“I found my engineering background to be very useful in city council and the legislature,” Orlett said. “My engineering education taught me to think logically. Especially my work at GMI, it taught me to work with others.”

In 1971, Orlett’s political career became full-time when he was asked by the Democratic Party to seek a position in the Ohio House of Representatives where he served for the next 13 years until 1985. From 1985 to 1991, Orlett was elected as the Clerk of Courts in Dayton where he oversaw the transition from paper to digital court records, including digitizing the archives.   

“Again I found my engineering background very helpful for organizing court records and record systems,” Orlett said. “It’s [engineering] been a great benefit for me. I loved engineering and I’m very grateful that I had that opportunity because it helped me to do so many things.”

Despite his successes in the court system Orlett grew tired of the cycle of seeking re-election and desired to go back to his legislative roots. In 1991, he founded “Ohio State Governmental Relations” - an advocacy group for urban community action agencies across the State. Orlett’s organization remains active to this day and has worked on securing Head Start funding for Ohio school districts, was instrumental in expanding the community college system in Dayton and is currently working with the Drug Policy Alliance – an advocacy group that believes drug addiction is an illness and not a crime and therefore it should be treated as opposed to punished via incarceration.

“I’ve slowed down,” Orlett said. “I still work. I maintain my interest in politics and social issues and criminal justice systems. I still advocate for what I think is the right thing.”

Alumni Awards Ceremony

On October, 9, 2014, Orlett along with six of his fellow Kettering University graduates, will be honored at an Alumni Dinner and Ceremony. Orlett will receive the Alumni Achievement Award and says half-jokingly but half-seriously, he’s considering retiring a few days later.  

“I’ve been thinking about taking an early retirement, I turn 81 the Monday after the awards ceremony,” Orlett said.

Like most of his personal attributes and professional accomplishments, Orlett once again credits his mother’s upbringing for his longevity and passion for work.

“Mother was certainly a role model. Her work ethic certainly rubbed off on me,” Orlett said. “She grew up in small rural community and she developed herself from that experience.”

Orlett’s mother passed away in 1966 at the age of 73. The only time the two were separated was during his two-year stint with the army in Germany and even then, their memories were cherished.

“She and I were very close,” Orlett said. “After she passed away, I found a box that had all the letters that I had written her when I was in the army in Germany and she had kept every single one of them.”

Orlett chokes up, takes a second to catch his breath before affirming that he’s “OK” as he remembers his mother and considers what she would think of his professional career path and the accolades that have followed to this day.

“I think she would say ‘oh you’re kidding me, he didn’t do all that,’” Orlett said.