Verne Orr; Air Force Secretary for Reagan

Verne Orr, 92, whose skills with figures and finance made him a key official under Ronald Reagan in California and in Washington, where he was secretary of the Air Force, died Nov. 27 at his home in Pasadena, Calif. His wife, Sarah Smith Orr, said he had been in declining health but did not specify the cause of death.

In his late 80s, Mr. Orr attended to what his wife described as "unfinished business" by completing a doctoral thesis that helps delineate the nuances and intricacies of developing a major weapons system.

As his wife recalled, Mr. Orr left an intensive-care unit only three days before the degree ceremony. Supported by others, he made his way across the stage to receive his PhD from Claremont Graduate University at the age of 88.

For part of Reagan's tenure as governor of California, Mr. Orr was state finance director. He was later controller during the Reagan presidential campaign, a deputy director of Reagan's presidential transition team and civilian chief of the Air Force from 1981 to 1985.

"He was very proud of his association with Ronald Reagan," his wife said.

Mr. Orr was born in Des Moines and moved to Southern California before starting high school. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Pomona College, he also held a master's degree in business administration from Stanford University.

After World War II service in the Pacific as a Navy supply officer, he joined his father's car dealership and soon became a partner. After they sold it, he headed a savings and loan.

He was California's director of motor vehicles at the start of Reagan's gubernatorial administration in 1967 and later succeeded Caspar Weinberger in the finance post, supervising the state budget. According to news accounts, he won wide respect by mastering the technical details of government budgeting.

At the Pentagon, Mr. Orr and the Air Force's top uniformed officer, Charles A. Gabriel, were credited with structural modernizations, significant budget increases and attentiveness to the needs of service members.

The Air Force Association named an award for Mr. Orr to recognize the unit that makes best use of the men and women in it.

Before coming to Washington, Mr. Orr taught government finance at the University of Southern California. In 1977, Gov. Jerry Brown named him to the University of California's Board of Regents.

After leaving Washington, he and his wife set up a planning and management consulting firm. He also spent three years as a business school dean at the University of La Verne in La Verne, Calif.

Mr. Orr worked on his doctoral dissertation over a 14-year period. He had put the work aside for about half that time, but as his tenure at La Verne was ending, his wife suggested that he return to it.

His study focused on the B-1 bomber, which was procured during Mr. Orr's Pentagon years. He described a complex process of weapons development, involving a variety of political, military and corporate interests interacting over a period of years.

His first wife, Joan Peak Orr, died in 1988.

In addition to his wife, of Pasadena, survivors include two children from his first marriage; two stepchildren; and two grandchildren.