Martine "Tine" Pedersen Orr

Martine “Tine” Pedersen Orr, 87, passed away on October 25, 2026. She was born July 2, 1939, in Miami, FL, to George Christian and Pasqualina Amelia (Trombetta) Pedersen, and was raised in Perrine, FL, as one of four children. Her parents, both from farming families, insisted all four children go to college; Tine earned her BSN from Florida State University and a Master of Public Health Administration from the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

While in graduate school she met Gilbert F. Orr, and they married on December 29, 1965, at the Church of the Holy Rosary in Perrine, FL. Their life together took them to Humacao, Puerto Rico; Miami, FL; and Nairobi, Kenya, before settling in Pueblo in 1977, where Gil taught mathematics at the University of Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo) for 34 years.

Tine devoted 54 years to nursing and public health. Early in her career, she worked as a nurse at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institute of Health, as a maternal/child health instructor at the University of Puerto Rico, as an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Miami School of Nursing, and as a researcher for the World Health Organization in Nairobi, Kenya. After arriving in Pueblo, Tine served as Director of Nurses at the Pueblo City-County Health Department and as Executive Director of the Southeastern Colorado Area Health Education Center and worked tirelessly to ease health professional shortages in Southeast Colorado and to improve nursing education across the state. She helped establish the Pueblo Community Indicators Project, Nurse-Family Partnership, La Familia Fuerte, and Pueblo Step-Up and chaired the CSU-Pueblo Nursing Advisory Committee. After retiring in 1994, she continued as a nonprofit management consultant and volunteered on various community organization boards and advisory councils, including the Diocese of Pueblo Catholic Foundation, Healthy Pueblo Communities 2000/2010, and the Sangre De Cristo Hospice.

Tine loved to travel, visiting every continent and over 65 countries, and treasured visits with family, including those in Denmark and with the exchange students she and Gil hosted and knew. She enjoyed bridge, reading, and the international dinner group she helped found at the university in 1978.

She is survived by her husband of over 60 years, Gilbert; daughter Cecilia (Dan) Proietti; grandchildren Owen and Parker Proietti; daughter-in-law Sandy Orr; brother George Christian “Chris” Pedersen; sister Johanna “Joi” Pedersen; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends around the world. She was preceded in death by her parents, sons George (2010), Patrick (2011), and Paul (2022), and her twin sister, Marietta Pedersen (2020).

A rosary and memorial service will be held Monday, November 16, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at Montgomery & Steward Chapel. A funeral mass will be celebrated Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 1132 W. Oro Grande Dr., Pueblo West, with Fr. Edmundo Valera officiating.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Martine & Gilbert Orr Faculty Enrichment Fund using the link below or made payable to “CSU Pueblo Foundation” and mailed to Colorado State University Pueblo Foundation, 2200 Bonforte Blvd., Pueblo, CO 81001, noting “Orr Endowment” in the memo line.

https://csupueblofoundation.com/uncategorized/martine-gilbert-orr-faculty-enrichment-fund/