Obituary of Coral Lee Willson

Coral Lee (Corky) Willson, 77, of State College, died Saturday, June 8, 2019, at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Born September 12, 1941, in Youngstown Ohio, she was the daughter of the late Dr. Charles F. and Ruth E. Witmer Wagner.

Corky lived a life full of joy, readiness for the next adventure, and deep appreciation for relationships with family and friends. As a little girl growing up in Ohio she loved horses, westerns, and her dogs. As a teen she thrived academically and musically at Austintown Fitch High School -- playing oboe in orchestra, saxophone and bell lyre in the Warren Junior Military Band. She met Tom Willson in the very beginning of her college experience at Baldwin-Wallace College. They married in 1961 and Corky graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She would go on to take graduate courses at Miami University of Ohio and Penn State University.

Upon arriving in State College, Corky designed and implemented a Perceptual-Motor program and a day camp serving children with learning disabilities. She taught at Easterly Parkway Elementary School for most of her career, encouraging the development of her first and second graders. Corky and Tom visited classrooms in many schools with jars of milkweed and caterpillars to share the miracle of monarch butterflies. She joined a group of Easterly teachers to travel to the United Kingdom to exchange ideas and experiences with British teachers and students. She was committed to her work, her fellow teachers and most of all her students.

Throughout her life Corky has been compassionate, affirming, and unfailingly positive. Her happiness and genuine enthusiasm for life radiated from Corky; her joy was contagious. So many people said that Corky's laughter brightened their day. She was fun to be around and occasionally fiercely competitive -- especially playing Canasta and watching Penn State football. Corky loved watercolor painting with friends, filling her yard with flowers, exploring new places with Tom, and participating in the lives of her cherished children and grandchildren.

She is survived by husband Tom and three children, Kelly Willson and her partner, Kerry Flynn, of Rochester, NY, Thomas C. Willson and his wife, Yvette, of State College, and Wendy Felice and her husband, Dave, of State College; five grandchildren, Sean Allen Curtis, Ryan Willson, Marissa Willson, Anna Curtis, and Madeleine Willson, and a sister, Barbara L. Wagner, of Denver, CO.

A Celebration of Life will be held on July 27 at St. John's United Church of Christ in Boalsburg, at 11:00 am. Friends and family are invited to a luncheon at the church following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in Corky's memory to Monarch Watch (https://monarchwatch.org/ ) or to St. John's United Church of Christ.

Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.