In Loving Memory of O.V. Hanger
December 7th, 1952 - June 8th, 2020
Orion Victor Hanger, born on December 7, 1952 in Washington DC, peacefully left this earthly realm on June 8, 2020.
Orion went by his initials of O.V. and lived an extensive joy-filled life in Tampa, Florida for 50 years.
O.V. briefly attended Lynchburg College before moving to Tampa and attending the University of South Florida to obtain a degree in psychology. He worked for the Florida Mental Health Institute, but soon discovered his talent in the Computer Science field and got his first job at The Nielsen Company.
O.V. worked at Nielsen for over 30 years, initially in the IT area and then for 17 years in Custom Research as Director of Technical Services until his retirement in 2017. O.V. was an expert SAS programmer and was responsible for technical development of new custom products for measurement of media in movie theaters, airports and other venues outside of the home. He was instrumental in the creation of Nielsen’s first internet measurement.
O.V. was a unique combination of artist and scientist.
When he wasn’t developing complex computer programs, he was penning poems and writing songs. He liked to say he “wrote the songs that made computers sing” and he really did.
O.V. married the love of his life, Sylvia “Sylla” (Baucom) Sheppard-Hanger in 1982. Their life together was one of beautiful music, bringing their joyful daughter, Nyssa Rhiannon Hanger, into the world in 1984.
During his early years, O.V. was a local musician in the Tampa area and joined up with his friend Larry Feldman to create the duo, Feldman-Hanger. They performed in many treasured local Tampa spots including The Peanut Gallery, Proud Lion Pub, and Busch Gardens. Though his life as a professional musician ended in his early 30’s, his love of music and creative expression lived on until the day he passed.
In his later years, he took up the joy of photography and began learning more about cameras and even completed a photography class at the University of South Florida. He also gravitated towards writing haikus, sometimes accompanied by a picture, and was still writing and recording music into retirement.
Please see below for links to his music, photography, and writing.
O.V. Hanger was preceded in death by his parents, Victor H. and Elizabeth M. Hanger, and his brothers-in-law, Kenneth Baucom and Donald “D” Baucom. O.V. is survived by his wife, Sylla Hanger, their daughter, Nyssa Rhiannon Hanger, her husband, Samuel Rotker, his older sister, Anne Hanger, her husband, Robert Craycroft, his younger brother, William “Marc” Hanger, younger sister, Sally “Trisha” Hanger, her husband, Peter Svenlen, his other younger sister, Virginia “Jinx” Hanger Cole, his brother-in-law, David Baucom, and his nieces and nephews, Jimmy Baucom, Julie Baucom Simington, Heike Baucom, Kristina Baucom, Davie Baucom, and Katie Baucom Zezima, Elizabeth Cole Johnson, William Cole, Sally Svenlen, and Samuel Svenlen.
How to Celebrate O.V.’s Life
It meant the world to Dad to share his music and creative life with others.
We ask that you honor his memory and listen to his songs on SoundCloud.
Though his final album wasn’t yet released (but we’ll post it as soon as we can), there’s hours of audio recordings of Dad and his music.
I kept telling Dad he should get on Instagram because he took such great pictures and the platform is made for that.
He was only a year into using Facebook and didn’t want to learn a new thing. (I don’t blame him! Especially knowing his time left was so precious.)
After starting to find more photos as well as hundreds of poems and original aphorisms, I decided to make an account for him so that everyone else can share in his deep wisdom and creative eye. It’s proving to be a nice tool for moving through grief.
So here’s his memorial account in the name of his final album, Radial Man.
I hope you find this as inspirational as I do. 💗 Please feel free to share.
Celebrate with Us:
We’re figuring our the details for how to most responsibly celebrate O.V.’s life together at this time in the pandemic.
To be able to receive updates for services and other ways you can heal with us through this time of loss, sign up below to receive updates.
First Memorial Service - Sunday, June 21, 12pm ET
We’ll be hosting a very small and private ceremony at the house to dedicate a space in the yard to Dad. If you’d like to participate with us, here is a simple ceremony you can also do at home.
Designate a sacred space. Whatever that means to you (light a candle, say a prayer, create an altar, open a circle by calling the directions, etc.)
Honor this time of year of the Summer Solstice. Seek out the sun if possible, stand in it, contemplate the longest day of the year. Again, use your own beliefs and spiritual tools to design a ceremony that works for you.
Play one of Dad’s songs. Think of your favorite memories with him. Write them down to share with us if you’d like.
Optional: Drink some Orange Juice (his morning beverage), or Diet Coke and Scotch (his evening beverage). Share some with him by pouring a little into the earth.
Cleanse! In our ceremony, we’ll end by jumping in the pool as a ritual bathing. You can do the same or take a shower or bath, or simply wash your hands.
How to Support Sylla and Nyssa:
Especially since O.V.’s passing has been a shock and the current pandemic is making it a particularly challenging time for grieving, we’re asking for help as we move through this process.
Our students have setup a Meal Train, which is a way for people who are local to see and sign up on a schedule for days they’d like to bring food. Others can contribute to a fund to help us purchase takeout as needed. Staying fed has been an important part of our self-care.
Please Support a Local Musician
In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made in O.V.’s honor to a local musician of your choice.
Though he was a computer programmer in his career life, his first love was music. In the past few years of retirement he finished writing and recorded many of his songs, making several albums, and even set up his own SoundCloud.
One of my puzzles to figure out is how to access his last album which he was in the final stages of mixing so we can all listen. It is called, “Radial Man.”
We’re asking for donations to be made in his honor to support local musicians, many of whom have been hit hard at this time.
Buy their albums, donate to their Patreons, share their music with your friends and encourage them to support them too.
(Tell us about it by posting about it on social media with the hashtag #radialman.)