S SGT US ARMY AIR FORCES WWII
John Burton Corson, 90, of Genoa, Ill., passed away Feb. 28, 2012, at Kishwaukee Hospital, DeKalb, after a long battle with a series of illnesses.
John was born April 7, 1921, in Leaf River, to John Dillon, DVM and Velma Maud (Crawford) Corson. By the time he was 3 years old, the family moved to a 160 acre farm in the Genoa area where his father ran a dairy and was a veterinarian.
John and his brothers and sisters assisted on the farm where all of the work was done by hand with the help of up to 12 draft horses.
John went to school in Genoa, graduating in 1939.
After high school, John continued to work on the family farm.
Less than a month after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he trained as an airplane maintenance technician and began a lifelong love of aircraft. After completing basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., he was sent to a number of places throughout the country to learn airplane maintenance. During this time he worked on P-40s. The Curtis P-40 had a Packard Rolls-Royce engine on which John really liked to work. He said it was a smooth sounding engine. After learning everything there was to know about the P-40s, he was sent to Bedford, Mass., to learn about the maintenance requirements for the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt.
John and his crew worked with pilots, ensuring that the planes were ready for war. Once his training was completed, he was sent to the South Pacific in 1943 where he served in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the southern Philippines, Luzon, Ryukyus (Okinawa) and the air offensive against Japan.
He was honorably discharged Nov. 15, 1945, after attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
After the war, John returned to Genoa where he worked for Oster Manufacturing. There, he met and fell in love with Eunice Marcella Rehn and the two were married April 25, 1948, in Belvidere. "Best move I ever made – love her and all my children including my dogs, Corky and Ginger" he recently said. Four children were born to this union.
He worked for more than 32 years for Union Special as a machinist, retiring in 1981. In a recent note to his family, he said, "If I die tomorrow, I'd be happy with my life."
John is survived by his wife of 63 years, Eunice Corson; brother, Paul (Pete; Charlene) Corson of Guthrie, Minn.; children, Bruce Alan Corson of Kingston, Peggy Lynn Corson (Tim Canaday) of Lemhi, Idaho, John Arthur Corson (Terri Nelson) of Libertyville and Glenn Curtis Corson of Kankakee; and numerous loving nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, George, James and Charles; and two sisters, Ellen Thompson and Barbara Nelson.
A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Faith United Methodist Church in Genoa, with the Rev. Dr. Daniel Diss officiating. Burial will be at Kingston Cemetery.
Daily Chronicle and The MidWeek on March 3, 2012
John Burton Corson, 90, of Genoa, Ill., passed away Feb. 28, 2012, at Kishwaukee Hospital, DeKalb, after a long battle with a series of illnesses.
John was born April 7, 1921, in Leaf River, to John Dillon, DVM and Velma Maud (Crawford) Corson. By the time he was 3 years old, the family moved to a 160 acre farm in the Genoa area where his father ran a dairy and was a veterinarian.
John and his brothers and sisters assisted on the farm where all of the work was done by hand with the help of up to 12 draft horses.
John went to school in Genoa, graduating in 1939.
After high school, John continued to work on the family farm.
Less than a month after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he trained as an airplane maintenance technician and began a lifelong love of aircraft. After completing basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., he was sent to a number of places throughout the country to learn airplane maintenance. During this time he worked on P-40s. The Curtis P-40 had a Packard Rolls-Royce engine on which John really liked to work. He said it was a smooth sounding engine. After learning everything there was to know about the P-40s, he was sent to Bedford, Mass., to learn about the maintenance requirements for the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt.
John and his crew worked with pilots, ensuring that the planes were ready for war. Once his training was completed, he was sent to the South Pacific in 1943 where he served in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the southern Philippines, Luzon, Ryukyus (Okinawa) and the air offensive against Japan.
He was honorably discharged Nov. 15, 1945, after attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
After the war, John returned to Genoa where he worked for Oster Manufacturing. There, he met and fell in love with Eunice Marcella Rehn and the two were married April 25, 1948, in Belvidere. "Best move I ever made – love her and all my children including my dogs, Corky and Ginger" he recently said. Four children were born to this union.
He worked for more than 32 years for Union Special as a machinist, retiring in 1981. In a recent note to his family, he said, "If I die tomorrow, I'd be happy with my life."
John is survived by his wife of 63 years, Eunice Corson; brother, Paul (Pete; Charlene) Corson of Guthrie, Minn.; children, Bruce Alan Corson of Kingston, Peggy Lynn Corson (Tim Canaday) of Lemhi, Idaho, John Arthur Corson (Terri Nelson) of Libertyville and Glenn Curtis Corson of Kankakee; and numerous loving nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, George, James and Charles; and two sisters, Ellen Thompson and Barbara Nelson.
A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Faith United Methodist Church in Genoa, with the Rev. Dr. Daniel Diss officiating. Burial will be at Kingston Cemetery.
Daily Chronicle and The MidWeek on March 3, 2012
S SGT US ARMY AIR FORCES WWII
John Burton Corson, 90, of Genoa, Ill., passed away Feb. 28, 2012, at Kishwaukee Hospital, DeKalb, after a long battle with a series of illnesses.
John was born April 7, 1921, in Leaf River, to John Dillon, DVM and Velma Maud (Crawford) Corson. By the time he was 3 years old, the family moved to a 160 acre farm in the Genoa area where his father ran a dairy and was a veterinarian.
John and his brothers and sisters assisted on the farm where all of the work was done by hand with the help of up to 12 draft horses.
John went to school in Genoa, graduating in 1939.
After high school, John continued to work on the family farm.
Less than a month after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he trained as an airplane maintenance technician and began a lifelong love of aircraft. After completing basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., he was sent to a number of places throughout the country to learn airplane maintenance. During this time he worked on P-40s. The Curtis P-40 had a Packard Rolls-Royce engine on which John really liked to work. He said it was a smooth sounding engine. After learning everything there was to know about the P-40s, he was sent to Bedford, Mass., to learn about the maintenance requirements for the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt.
John and his crew worked with pilots, ensuring that the planes were ready for war. Once his training was completed, he was sent to the South Pacific in 1943 where he served in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the southern Philippines, Luzon, Ryukyus (Okinawa) and the air offensive against Japan.
He was honorably discharged Nov. 15, 1945, after attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
After the war, John returned to Genoa where he worked for Oster Manufacturing. There, he met and fell in love with Eunice Marcella Rehn and the two were married April 25, 1948, in Belvidere. "Best move I ever made – love her and all my children including my dogs, Corky and Ginger" he recently said. Four children were born to this union.
He worked for more than 32 years for Union Special as a machinist, retiring in 1981. In a recent note to his family, he said, "If I die tomorrow, I'd be happy with my life."
John is survived by his wife of 63 years, Eunice Corson; brother, Paul (Pete; Charlene) Corson of Guthrie, Minn.; children, Bruce Alan Corson of Kingston, Peggy Lynn Corson (Tim Canaday) of Lemhi, Idaho, John Arthur Corson (Terri Nelson) of Libertyville and Glenn Curtis Corson of Kankakee; and numerous loving nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, George, James and Charles; and two sisters, Ellen Thompson and Barbara Nelson.
A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Faith United Methodist Church in Genoa, with the Rev. Dr. Daniel Diss officiating. Burial will be at Kingston Cemetery.
Daily Chronicle and The MidWeek on March 3, 2012
John Burton Corson, 90, of Genoa, Ill., passed away Feb. 28, 2012, at Kishwaukee Hospital, DeKalb, after a long battle with a series of illnesses.
John was born April 7, 1921, in Leaf River, to John Dillon, DVM and Velma Maud (Crawford) Corson. By the time he was 3 years old, the family moved to a 160 acre farm in the Genoa area where his father ran a dairy and was a veterinarian.
John and his brothers and sisters assisted on the farm where all of the work was done by hand with the help of up to 12 draft horses.
John went to school in Genoa, graduating in 1939.
After high school, John continued to work on the family farm.
Less than a month after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps, where he trained as an airplane maintenance technician and began a lifelong love of aircraft. After completing basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., he was sent to a number of places throughout the country to learn airplane maintenance. During this time he worked on P-40s. The Curtis P-40 had a Packard Rolls-Royce engine on which John really liked to work. He said it was a smooth sounding engine. After learning everything there was to know about the P-40s, he was sent to Bedford, Mass., to learn about the maintenance requirements for the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt.
John and his crew worked with pilots, ensuring that the planes were ready for war. Once his training was completed, he was sent to the South Pacific in 1943 where he served in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the southern Philippines, Luzon, Ryukyus (Okinawa) and the air offensive against Japan.
He was honorably discharged Nov. 15, 1945, after attaining the rank of staff sergeant.
After the war, John returned to Genoa where he worked for Oster Manufacturing. There, he met and fell in love with Eunice Marcella Rehn and the two were married April 25, 1948, in Belvidere. "Best move I ever made – love her and all my children including my dogs, Corky and Ginger" he recently said. Four children were born to this union.
He worked for more than 32 years for Union Special as a machinist, retiring in 1981. In a recent note to his family, he said, "If I die tomorrow, I'd be happy with my life."
John is survived by his wife of 63 years, Eunice Corson; brother, Paul (Pete; Charlene) Corson of Guthrie, Minn.; children, Bruce Alan Corson of Kingston, Peggy Lynn Corson (Tim Canaday) of Lemhi, Idaho, John Arthur Corson (Terri Nelson) of Libertyville and Glenn Curtis Corson of Kankakee; and numerous loving nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers, George, James and Charles; and two sisters, Ellen Thompson and Barbara Nelson.
A memorial service to celebrate his life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at Faith United Methodist Church in Genoa, with the Rev. Dr. Daniel Diss officiating. Burial will be at Kingston Cemetery.
Daily Chronicle and The MidWeek on March 3, 2012
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