Dr. Joseph M. Corey

Dr. Joseph M. Corey, a devoted husband and father, a long-time surgeon at Norwalk Hospital, and a fixture in the community since the days he marched with his clarinet in the Norwalk High School Band, died Friday after a brief illness. He was 77.

An intensely thoughtful man with a keen sense of humor, Dr. Corey never took life for granted, living most days with a smile on his face.

Dr. Corey loved golf, listening to opera, reading history, and rooting for the Mets and the New York Giants. But mostly, Dr. Corey found joy in his family. He met his wife, Ellen Flatley, when he was a third-year medical student at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton, Mass., where Ellen worked as a registered nurse.

They were married 51 years. Joe and Ellen had six daughters -- Mary Beth, Ann, Ellie, Julie, Jane and Jacqueline. Dr. Corey was the proud grandfather of eight, and all his grandchildren called him "Jidoo," the Lebanese term for grandfather, a tribute to his family heritage.

Since retiring from medical practice about six years ago, Dr. Corey spent much of his time traveling with his wife to see his grandchildren, who live in North Carolina, Chicago and San Diego. The entire Corey family gathered last year for a 50th wedding anniversary celebration in the Poconos, the place where Joe and Ellen spent their honeymoon.

Dr. Corey was also an avid woodworker and handyman and he relished a project, the more challenging the better. All of his daughters have at least one clock, step-stool, wagon or bookshelf hand-made by their dad. He also made bottle openers using screws and scrap pieces of oak wood, and the iconic "Doc Corey" beer bottle opener is a family staple.

Dr. Corey practiced surgery in Norwalk in partnership with Dr. John Piro for 32 years. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the Department of Surgery at Norwalk Hospital in 1997.

Dr. Corey's civic service included serving as President of the Class of 1951 at Norwalk High School, President of the Norwalk Rotary Club, President of the Norwalk Medical Society, president of the Southport Woods Condominium Association, and President of Shorehaven Golf Club.

In a profile about Dr. Corey in The Norwalk Hour on July 30, 2001, Alexander Rissolo, a Norwalk dentist and close friend said "He's a born leader. I've known him since junior high school and he's always been a prince of a man."

Dr. Corey was drafted into the army during the Vietnam War and served in Korea. In one of the family's most touching stories, Dr. Corey was in Korea while his wife and the young girls were home in Norwalk. He tried everything possible to get his family to join him, and eventually succeeded. After days of anticipating their arrival and being disappointed by delays, the military transport plane finally arrived in Seoul, Korea, with a manifest that read "Corey, Corey, Corey, Corey, Corey, Corey." Dr. Corey met his family on the tarmac and all the other soldiers on the plane cheered.

A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass, Dr. Corey was on the dean's list all four years. He wrote his thesis on something called "The Structure and Physiology of the Gall Bladder and Common Bile Duct in their Relation to Digestion." He graduated Tufts University Medical School, and completed his internship and surgical residency at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass.

Dr. Corey appreciated life perhaps more than most, as he suffered kidney failure about 10 years ago and, then, seven years ago, received a transplanted kidney from his daughter Ellie. All six daughters offered to be donors for their beloved dad.

With six daughters and no sons, Dr. Corey often heard the joking remark "you poor man," but those who were closest to him knew the truth: he couldn't have been happier or more proud. One of Dr. Corey's last activities was making traditional Lebanese stuffed grape leaves with his grandchildren.

Dr. Corey is survived by his wife of 51 years and the love of his life, Ellen Flatley Corey, originally from Brookline, Mass. Also by his daughters and sons-in-laws: Mary Beth Corey, of New York City and her companion Mark Dowd, of Milford, Conn; Ann Corey, of Des Plaines, Ill; Ellie Corey, and her husband Bill Hanrahan of New London, Conn; Julie Corey of Asheville, NC; Jane Corey Holt and her husband Doug Holt of Evanston, Ill; Jacqueline Corey Kennedy and her husband Bill Kennedy of San Diego, Calif.

His eight grandchildren are Colleen, Erin and Joseph Young of Asheville, NC; Corey, Noah and Dylan Holt of Evanston, Ill; and Jimmy and Clara Kennedy of San Diego, Calif.

He is also survived by his sisters Gloria Annitto of Glastonbury, Conn., and Lillian Nelson of Greenville, RI, and six nieces and nephews.

Dr. Corey is predeceased by his parents Joseph and Elizabeth (Hatton) Corey of Norwalk Connecticut, and his sister Marion "Babe" Uffie" Corey, also of Norwalk.

Calling hours are Monday, 4-8 p.m. at Magner Funeral Home, 12 Mott Street, Norwalk, Conn. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, East Avenue, Conn. The Celebrant will be Rev. Brian M. Flatley, Dr. Corey's brother-in-law.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations in Dr. Corey's name be made to the Kidney Transplant Center c/o Development at Yale-New Haven, 20 York Street, New Haven, CT 06510-3502.