A city can be characterized by bricks, buildings and roads. A community, on the other hand, is a reflection of the people who live there, those who create a sense of family.
Fort Bend County lost one of its most beloved pillars of the community with the passing of Orin Covell. Orin’s list of accomplishments are enviable — numerous booster clubs, MUD boards and civic boards.

At his wake, the line to greet Orin’s family stretched outside the funeral home and down the driveway. Many of us waited over an hour in line to hug Becky, and everyone from mayors to judges to business executives to college buddies came to pay their respects at both the wake and the funeral.

I remember Orin as the smiling guy in the starched white shirt and impeccable silver hair who’d start to tell me a story and, 30 minutes later, get to the end. But what a marvelous ride Orin took us on when he told his stories.

Mike Hafer, who knew Orin for many years, said Orin was the kind of guy people enjoyed being around. Orin was a fabulous sounding board, never in a hurry, and always had time to listen and then give an honest answer.

Mike said he overheard someone saying that Orin had to have lived two lives because no one could’ve given all that he did so well to both his professional and private life. But he did. Whenever we visited, he always talked about his family and we usually swapped grandbaby stories.

His sister, Ann, said she and Orin regularly went to lunch because family was so important to him. And that family included the community.

Orin was a second generation fireman, but he wasn’t one to ignore the phone call when it came in. For over 30 years, Orin responded to the calls to help somebody in trouble.

Many times I saw Orin out at a fire, sweating and working alongside all the fire fighters on the scene, day or night.

He wasn’t a paid firefighter — he was a volunteer, and Orin embodied the word “volunteer.” The day before he passed away, Orin spent the afternoon helping the Red Cross set up a bicycle event. And he did so with a smile and no regrets about giving of his weekend to a community cause.

At Orin’s funeral, the Rev. Howard Drabek delivered the eulogy, and he said Orin was all about foundations. He was one of the original members of the Lamar Educational Awards Foundation, an organization that helps teachers fund enrichment projects in the classroom.

Many people knew Orin as a guardian of Fort Bend County’s long and rich history, and he safeguarded that history through his work with the George Foundation and the Fort Bend County Museum Association.

Whenever I’d go out to the George Ranch as a reporter, I’d usually find Orin out and about the grounds. His office reflected his love of his family and of Texas, but it was on the open prairie where I heard the best stories about the Georges and the early days of the county.

Whether it was helping people in the insurance business or assisting teachers , students, Boy Scouts and teens inside and outside the classroom, Orin knew any successful community’s foundation always starts with the volunteer.

For those sitting on the sideline, wondering how to make a positive difference in the world, look no further than the example left by Orin Covell.

Give freely of yourself and of your time, and, in return, you will be part of that solid foundation upon which families, churches, schools, communities and futures are built.

Thank you, Orin, for making so many dreams come true for so many.

You’ll be deeply missed, good friend.

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.