Dr. Orrin Penfield Dales

Born 28 November 1895 at Malden-on-Hudson, Ulster County, New York

Died 13 April 1991 at Passaic, Passaic County, New York

Orrin was more commonly known as O. Penfield Dales or Penfield Dales. He was the third of seven children born to Frederick Dales and Mary Emily Smith Dales. The family relocated to Binghamton, New York before 1900 where his father was a commercial traveler. The family relocated again about 1908 to Schenectady, New York where his father was a district insurance agent. Orrin graduated from Schenectady High School in 1914. He was teaching at East Greenbush, a suburb of Albany, New York, in 1917 when he registered for the World War I draft. That fall, he enrolled at Union College at Schenectady. He graduated in 1921 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was appointed principal of Brushton High School at Brushton, New York from 1922 through 1925. In 1926, he received a Master of Arts degree from New York State Teachers College at Albany. From 1926 to 1927, he was a student in the department of educational administration for city school superintendents at Columbia University in Manhattan, New York. In 1931, he received a doctorate in philosophy of education from New York University at Manhattan. Orrin married to Esther Faith Kimball on 1 April 1929 at Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan. Orrin and Esther had no children. They made their home at Passaic where Orrin was a faculty member at Passaic High School. He was adviser at that school to The Dales, a club noted for its educational conferences and vocational lectures. Following his demise, he was buried at Sunnyside Cemetery at Brushton; his wife buried beside him the following year. Many of his wife’s family and extended family are also buried at this cemetery.  Orrin was John More Association Jean line cousin #58423 and my fourth cousin twice removed.

©2017 Cindy Coffell