Longtime educator leaves Prince William County Schools with $1M donation
MANASSAS, Va. (DC News Now) — Lillian Orlich retired at 89. She was an educator for more than six decades, serving much of her time as a teacher or as a counselor at Osbourn High School in Manassas City and Osbourn Park High School in Prince William County.
Last month, Orlich, known by many students as ‘Miss O,’ passed away. She was 95.
Her legacy was already cemented: generations of students were impacted by her in and out of the classroom. She was even honored by the school system. In 2003, the auditorium at Osbourn Park High School was renamed the Lillian Orlich Auditorium. There’s a plaque inside dedicated to her.
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But her legend, while already well-established, grew in the month after her death.
Prince William County Schools announced that Orlich left a $1 million donation to SPARK, the education outreach foundation for the school system. According to the district, the money will be distributed across the foundation’s focus areas, with heavy focus on educator preparedness.
“She wanted to leave a legacy of love,” said Pamela Gardner, the director of school counseling at Osbourn Park High School.
Gardner served as Orlich’s supervisor but said the longtime educator taught her plenty.
“She always could find something good in every single person,” she said.
Orlich’s impact on students was long-lasting. She was Mike Pietrzyk’s counselor, and even though he graduated in 1972, he still kept in touch with her all these years later.
“She was like the best coach you ever had,” he said. “You don’t forget those kinds of people.”
Pietrzyk said that even in their most recent conversations, Orlich kept some of the same characteristics as when she was his counselor.
“She talked to me like I was still a student, making sure I had goals,” he said.
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No one seemed surprised that Orlich left a donation to the school system — though some remarked at the size of the donation.
“Miss Lillian Orlich’s devotion to this community is unprecedented because she dedicated her life’s work over the course of the last 3 quarters of a century investing in our future leaders. This donation to SPARK is unsurprising considering her passion for supporting our students,” said Melissa Boyle, the SPARK Board of Directors president.
“She wanted to make sure Prince William County was taken care of — Osbourn Park, and the students in general,” Gardner said. “She wanted to make sure that she continued to make a difference and I think she will.”
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