Obituary of William S. Corey

William Samuel Corey died Thursday at Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. He is survived by his wife, the former Elaine Frazier Blye of West Chester, whom he married in 1976. Born April 9, 1911, in Philadelphia, he graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., with a degree in electrical engineering. He also received a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan and studied at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His entire working life was with Provident Indemnity Life Insurance Co., originally in Philadelphia and later in Norristown. He retired in 1975 as board chairman. Under the auspices of the International Executive Service Corps, he served as a volunteer consultant to insurance companies in Sierra Leone and Bangkok, Thailand, spending more than a year in those two countries. He was extremely active in the insurance industry and community affairs. He was a director on numerous boards, including the Pennsylvania Insurers' Conference, of which he was president for several years; the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, serving as chairman in 1974; the Life Insurers' Conference of Richmond, Va.; for 23 years at the Montgomery Hospital, Norristown; the Peoples National Bank, Norristown; the Downingtown School District; and the Uwchlan Twp. Zoning Board of Adjustment. In 1989, he and his brother were named the Outstanding Citizens of the Year by the Valley Forge Chamber of Commerce. He was very involved in Rensselaer alumni affairs, serving as president of the Delaware Valley Alumni Association, president for two terms of the Rensselaer Patroons — the university's chief fund raising group — and the Rensselaer Council, an administration and faculty advisory committee. In this last position, his was a very vocal plea for more and stronger courses for undergraduate engineering students in writing and speaking proficiency. He was the recipient of many awards from the university for his contributions. He was a life member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, the Masons, the Allentown Consistory and the Union League of Philadelphia. He belonged to several yacht clubs, including Annapolis and the Corinthian of Philadelphia, and was a member of the Norristown Commercial Club and the Endless Mountains Barbershop Chorus. At his death, he was a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Tunkhannock. His abiding hobby was boating. In the various boats he owned or operated, ranging from 14 to 54 feet, he extensively cruised the Chesapeake Bay and all the waters from Ontario to Key West, plus the Bahamas. He was a member of the Power Squadron and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, serving as a commander of a local flotilla for the latter. For a number of years, he taught safe-boating courses for both organizations. He received operator's and navigator's licenses from the Coast Guard, permitting him to be charter-boat captain. He and his wife, Elaine, lived in retirement at their home on Lake Walter, Springville, Susquehanna County. Also surviving are his children, Barbara Walters, a well-known horsewoman of Hunter Hill Stables, Pottstown; Meg Cave, a professional writer, Narberth; Robert Blye Jr., Pottstown; Lynne Graham, Montrose; Karen Wolfson, Montrose; Rodger Blye, Chester Springs; Barbara Ferrey, Shickshinny; and David Blye, Pottstown; 23 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by his first wife, Margaret Kendall, whom he married in 1936. She died in 1975. The funeral will be Sunday at 3 p.m. in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Montrose. Friends may call Sunday, 1 until time of service. A reception in the parish hall will follow. Interment for the immediate family will be held at a later date at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Exton. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Peter's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 957, Tunkhannock, PA 18657. Arrangements, Sheldon-Kukuchka Funeral Home Inc., 73 W. Tioga St., Tunkhannock.