Ladd Michael Corak

He was our hero, we idolized him. We watched him the way you watch the horizon, trusting it would always be there.
Every morning he met us with the same wide smile, as if the day had already decided to be kind. There was always coffee percolating, something already taken care of, some small kindness set in motion before anyone else was awake.
There was love in him, laughter, and a quiet wisdom that simply showed up when it was needed. When we needed answers, he offered them the way a compass points north.
When something good happened, he was the first voice we wanted to hear. When things fell apart, he listened in a way that made the pieces feel less sharp.
We shared a love of dogs, and their instinctive understanding that joy should be uncomplicated. Every dog loved him best, and we all knew it. He knelt to them easily, offered treats freely, and gave affection the way it should always be given, fully and without condition.
He had a mischievous streak, loved telling jokes. And there was always that tell when he did, the twinkle in his big blue eyes, giving away the joke before the punchline arrived.
We shared music the way some people share prayers. Music bound us to him. If it carried poetry, he listened, attentive, adoring.
He was endlessly well read, his mind a wide open room. One moment it was Faulkner, Shakespeare, and Hemingway, the next he was quoting Yogi Berra or his favorite comedians, as if all those voices lived comfortably together inside of him.
He loved words about what endures, about cycles that keep turning, and about how nothing is ever really lost, only changed.
In the quiet moments, he sat in his backyard, listening to the birds in his trees, watching them gather at his bird bath, content to let the world move at its own pace.
These memories will forever linger against the void, but he would be telling us to keep smiling. We will always honor you, Dad, in our minds and hearts eternally. Thank you for your lessons and your love.
We love you so much.
Ladd Corak passed away peacefully on December 25th, 2025. He was a loving father, husband, brother, uncle, and son. He was preceded by his mother, father, and brothers. He is survived by his sisters, his adoring children, Morgan, Lorna, and Rachel, and his loving wife, Kathleen.