HARRY CORLESS

Harry H. Corless

Passed away at home after a courageous battle with lung disease on Thursday, May 10, 2007.

Harry was born on October 6, 1928, in the village of Coppull near Manchester in northern England. He graduated from Liverpool University in 1949 with a B.Sc. in Engineering. He completed a post-graduate apprenticeship at Leyland Motors from 1949 to 1950. After serving in the British Army, he answered a newspaper ad that turned into a job in the engineering department of Britain's Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). He was quickly promoted and moved up the ladder at ICI over the next two decades, and in 1976 was offered a job as Vice President of Strategic Planning for ICI Americas in Wilmington, Delaware. Though he was only supposed to stay three years, Harry convinced his wife to remain in America, and was promoted to President and CEO in 1982. Under his leadership at ICI, sales grew from $1 billion to $4 billion annually by the time he stepped down as Chairman in 1989. While his decision to retire took many by surprise, he offered that if President Reagan could finish his job in eight years, so could he. Despite declarations that he would pursue a second career in the arts, Harry's business success earned him a seat on numerous boards in the private sector and with philanthropic organizations throughout the US. He served on the boards of Winterthur Museum, the Grand Opera House, Chorale Delaware, the NALCO Chemical Company, Delaware Trust, Meridian Bank, Uniroyal, Inc., and the advisory boards of Centreville School and The Independence School. He spent 26 years as a trustee of Christiana Care, a tenure he recently recalled as his most rewarding professional experience. He served as Chairman of the Board of Christiana Care from 1989 to 1991 and Chairman of the Trustees from 1991 until 2006. He received a multitude of professional distinctions and awards including the award of the International Palladium Medal for outstanding contribution to the chemical industry in 1987 and an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Delaware in 1988. He and his wife, Jean became United States Citizens in 2002. While he was successful in his professional career, Harry loved his family above all else. His sharp intellect, inquisitive nature, personal charisma, and sense of humor truly made him a one-of-a-kind that no one will easily forget. He loved playing golf, spending time at the house he built with his wife in Chadds Ford, and bringing his extended family together as often as he could.

He was a devoted husband to his wife Jean of 54 years; a loving brother to his sisters, Dorothy, Mary and Jeannie; a wonderful father to his children, son, Tim and his wife, Ann, of Upper Saddle River, NJ; daughter, Vicky Yatzus and her husband, Andy, of Newark, DE, and son, James and his wife, Diana, of Oakland, CA; and an adoring grandfather to his 7 grandchildren, Katie, Alexander, Erin, Haley, Sophie, Viva and Harry.

Friends and colleagues are invited to a celebration of his life and legacy on Friday, May 18 at 3 pm, at the Wilmington Country Club, 4825 Kennet Pike, Wilmington, DE.

The family asks in lieu of flowers, that donations be sent to either Christiana Care Health System, 13 Reads Way, Suite 203, New Castle, DE 19720; or to the Harry H. Corless Memorial Scholarship Fund at Centreville School, payable to Centreville School, 6201 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19807.

Arrangements by

CHANDLER FUNERAL

HOMES & CREMATORY

www.chandlerfuneralhome.com

302-478-7100