Ed Ligon

Ed Davis Ligon Jr. was born August 25, 1933 in Osage County, Oklahoma, near Tulsa. He was the son of Ed Davis Ligon and Nadine Colcord Ligon and had 2 younger sisters, Nadine and Gretchen. He attended Tulsa public schools and then graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1956 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. While in college he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, President of the Engineer's Club and a member of LKOT. After graduation he joined Orbit Valve Company in Tulsa, Okla. On October 5, 1962, Ed and Judith Ann Wright were married in Tulsa, Okla., then moved to Little Rock in 1964 where they had 3 children, daughters, Lisa and Shannon and a son, Chris. When Orbit moved its operations to Little Rock in 1964 he was elected President, a position he held until his retirement. During that time, Orbit moved from being a small manufacturer of valves for the oil and gas industry in the U.S. to a manufacturer of specialty valves for the world-wide oil and gas industry, with over half of its sales being sold outside the U.S. He was active in business organizations, having served on the boards of the National Association of Manufacturers; the Associated Industries of Arkansas, of which he was also President; the Worthen Bank and Trust Co; the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce; 50 for the Future; one of the founders of the Arkansas Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization and served on the International Board of YPO. He was a lifetime member of the World Presidents Organization. Since retirement from Orbit Valve Company in 1988, he has been President of the Kingdom Fund, a non-profit corporation that has supported numerous faith based organizations in the Little Rock area. They have strongly supported the Arkansas Rice Depot, especially the Food For Kids program and the World Gospel Outreach, which provides homes and education for street children in Honduras. Ed and Judy have been active members and supporters of Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock since 1978. Their real joy has been the Residency Program that equips young pastors with the leadership and management skills they need to plant churches that will attract people to Christ and equip and inspire them to do good in their communities. To date, over 80 churches have been planted by graduates of this program. Ed is survived by his wife, Judy Ligon; his daughter, Lisa and her partner, Vicki; his daughter, Shannon and her boys, Ryan and Michael; his son, Chris and his wife, Jenny and their children, Tanner, Spencer, Ashley and Sabrina; and his sister, Nadine and her family.