April 8 1944 October 30 2021
Joseph H. Corson April 8, 1944 – October 30, 2021 Joseph H. Corson, 77, of Sobieski, passed away at home on Saturday, October 30, 2021. He was born on April 8, 1944 in Millville, New Jersey to George and Barbara Corson, who later moved to Newmarket, VA for Joe’s growing-up years. Joe graduated from Shenandoah Valley Academy in 1962, which was located in his hometown. Joe attended Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he met his future wife, Elaine Gordon of Green Bay, WI. They were married on August 14 of 1966, and together they made their permanent residence in the Green Bay area. Their son, Jeffery, was born in 1971. Joe held a large variety of positions in his employment career. As a young man, he worked in uptown Washington D.C., selling stamps in a department store to political dignitaries who collected such things. After Joe married, he established his own company of Corson Heating in Green Bay, and worked for local building-contractors, installing hot-water heating systems in new homes. In 1978, Joe became an employee of the Green Thumb Corp and worked for Jack Paulsen, driving semi and delivering houseplants to stores and greenhouses, while enjoying the sights of the United States in the process! The wanderlust being awakened in him, he purchased a new Peterbilt tractor in 1981, and became an owner-operator trucker, becoming familiar with the entire mainland of the United States (with the exception of the state of Rhode Island). The incessant coast-to-coast driving requirements of the trucking industry finally caught up with Joe’s health, and forced him to look to other horizons for employment. (But not before he had created a special concoction called “Trucker-Joe’s Seasoning” for his trucker friends who enjoyed grilling out!) Unemployed, Joe then decided to turn to his former love of botany that his mother had implanted in his heart, when she introduced him to so many plants and flowers in his childhood. Therefore he enrolled at the UWGB campus and took classes there, when he was 50-plus years old! His “claim-to-fame” during this period was helping his fellow students to discover an endangered species of the Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly at the Mink River Preserve in Door County. Joe also operated his own greenhouse during this time, growing houseplants to sell. Joe’s creative side was emerging by this time, and he again switched careers – this time to follow his creative skills in the area of making quilts. He was already a long-time expert at the sewing and quilting machines, and so he and Elaine formed a business on University Ave. in Green Bay, called the Silver Thimble Quilt Shop. It didn’t take long until the lady quilters were asking Joe for advice regarding colors and fabric and what kind of thread to use! Joe had a natural gift for buying the right fabric, and also for creating patterns and projects in this unique art-form. He eventually bought a quilting frame and couldn’t keep up with the demand for his gift of finishing the quilts with his stitching skills of creating beautiful swirls and appropriate designs on each quilt. Quilters would be willing to wait for months just to have Joe’s expert touch on their quilts! The local newspaper even featured a human-interest article about this trucker-turned-quilter, who was winning awards at the quilt shows with his artistic work! During this era, Joe and Elaine also created a beautiful one-of-a-kind Green Bay Packer “signature-quilt” that was auctioned off for charity purposes to bless the community. Throughout his lifetime, Joe was deeply committed to sharing his many talents and interests with his church family at the Seventh-day Adventist Church on 1414 Shawano Ave. He served in many capacities at the church and school, be it his involvement with “Community Services,” or serving as the church treasurer. His natural ability and love for cooking was appreciated at church potlucks and also the weekly hot-lunch program at the school. Joe also enjoyed cooking for the Pathfinder camporees, and traveled to Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Oshkosh in WI, just to feed those hungry kids! And not to neglect his family and extended relatives, his dishes were always WELL-RECEIVED at family picnics, campfires, and reunions! And speaking of Pathfinders and food, Joe taught the kids how to make maple syrup from the sap of the maple trees on his property. A man of vision, Joe also created the Maple Syrup honor for the Pathfinder Clubs, so the technique and tradition could live on! In his later years of disabilities and Covid-quarantines, Joe seemed to have an “armchair network” of friends and family that he kept connected with. He was a good conversationalist and kept up with the current news and always had something interesting to say, whether it be of a spiritual or secular nature. He had a special interest of tracking earthquakes around the globe from a website on his cell phone. For the first part of his confinement, he could still sit at the quilting machine and create. But eventually, he spent more time in his favorite chair, painting with “paint-by-number” sets or coloring books to satisfy his creative needs during those quiet hours. Besides his pastime of watching inspirational programs on satellite TV, Joe also enjoyed watching the many birds that frequented the bird feeders outside his living room window. And many days, he enjoyed keeping company with Jeff’s dog Luna, who became his beloved companion and “grandpup!” Joe was ALWAYS giving in some way, both to his friends and family at the times of birthdays and Christmases, and to his beloved churches, both in the Green Bay and Lena areas. Many looked forward to receiving his perfected cheesecakes at Christmastime. His greatest happiness was to help and give to others in any way that he could! Many will miss this creative, intelligent, multi-talented, humble Christian man and friend. He was a BIG man in the BEST sense of the word, and his heart knew no limitations! Joe will always be a truly irreplaceable person in the eyes of many, and will be long-remembered as a Connoisseur of Kindness! Joe was preceded in death by his wife Elaine, in 2009. He is survived by his son, Jeffery. Joe’s funeral will be held on Thursday, November 4, at 6 p.m., at the Seventh-day Adventist Church at 1414 Shawano Ave, with Pastor Steven Aust officiating. Visitation will begin at 5:30 p.m. A lunch will follow the service, and livestreaming of the service will be available for those friends and family members who are unable to attend in person. It will be found on Facebook under the Green Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pfotenhauer Funeral Home has assisted the family.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Joseph H Corson April 8 1944 October 30 2021.
Death notice for the town of: Green Bay, state: Wisconsin