Douglas J. Corrigan

Douglas John Corrigan, 87, of South Brownell Road in Williston, died on Sunday, December 7, 2025, at UVM Medical Center after a serious illness.
He was born on Roosevelt Island, NYC, on August 6, 1938, named after the pilot Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan who famously duped authorities by taking to the air, flying to Ireland after being cleared to fly California. Doug was the youngest of 10 children born to Bernard and Margaret (O'Donnell) Corrigan. He grew up in Flushing, NY, where he made friendships in his school years that would last his lifetime. After graduating from Jamaica High School (1956), he served in the US Army at Maine's Loring Airforce Base as a radar operator. As a veteran, he leveraged the GI Bill and admission to C.W. Post college to pursue his undergraduate degree. With characteristic determination, he took trains, buses, walked and hitchhiked to get to and from school.
He was accomplished in and out of the classroom, including playing football for the Post Pioneers and drums for The Continentals, a local cover band. He graduated college in 1964 which marked a milestone to his ultimate goal: a career in the FBI. After a few character-building detours, Doug graduated from Quantico in 1966. For the rest of his life, he would recount tales of his days in the North Carolina and San Francisco field offices; but his eventual posting in the mid-town NYC office was not just a career summit, but also a homecoming. Not long after settling back in, Doug attended a lively party in Manhattan, encountering Birgitta Mechtenburg of Essen, Germany, in the hallway. They married in April 1971 (in both the U.S. and Germany!), and raised daughters Natascha and Allana in their long-time home on Long Island. After 24 years as a Special Agent, he retired and applied his experience in anti-piracy work for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and finally as a private investigator.
Alongside the FBI, Doug's passions were travel and skiing. He skied all over the world, but perhaps his favorite place in all the world (judging by how much it occupied conversation) was Mad River Glen, where he became a founding shareholder. Visits to MRG became a routine after Doug and Birgitta's post-retirement move to Williston, VT.
After 15 years as a proud Vermonter, Doug peacefully passed away in Burlington on December 7th. He is survived by his wife of 54 years Birgitta, his two daughters Natascha Aldridge (Jeremy) and Allana Sexton (Todd) and his two grandsons, William Douglas and Ethan Alexander Aldridge and stepbrother Robert Toephert.
He was proceeded in death by parents Bernard and Margret, stepmother Josephine, sisters Rosemary (Vasko), Patricia (Visachelli), Margaret (Tyrell), and brothers Bernard, Andrew, Thomas, James, Edward, Joseph and stepbrother John Toephert.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday, December 19th from 2-4 p.m. at the Ready Funeral Home South Chapel, Burlington. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, December 20th at 11 a.m. at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, South Burlington, with interment to follow in Resurrection Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Nature Conservancy, www.preserve.nature.org.
Arrangements are in the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Service.