Douglas Orr, father of retired hockey great Bobby Orr, will be laid to rest on Wednesday in his hometown of Parry Sound, Ont.

Orr died in his sleep on Saturday at age 82.

Douglas Orr, seen last month during Hockey Day in Canada celebrations at the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame in Parry Sound, once declined an offer from the Boston Bruins to play minor-league hockey.
(Cody Storm Cooper/ Canadian Press/Parry Sound North Star)

Orr excelled in track at Parry Sound High School and also in hockey, earning a long look from the NHL's Boston Bruins — the team on which his son Bobby made a name for himself as one of the league's greatest defencemen.

Douglas Orr declined an offer from the Bruins to play minor-league hockey in the U.S., however, and enlisted in the Canadian navy.

On March 20, 1948, Orr and wife Arva welcomed their third of five children, Robert Gordon Orr, in Parry Sound.

Orr, who worked in a munitions factory after the war, encouraged sons Ron, Douglas Jr. and Bobby as they each played several sports.

Barely a teenager, Bobby Orr's hockey prowess attracted interest from NHL clubs Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Boston.

In 2000, Arva died at 78 after a lengthy battle with cancer. The couple had been married 53 years.

Three years later, the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame opened in Parry Sound.

With files from the Canadian Press