John Charles Corley

John Charles Corley, the son of Markham and Jean Corley, was born on November 18, 1955. He died on June 22, 2016. Between those two dates, 60 years, not nearly long enough, he lived and achieved much.

By trade, John was in the drama business. Sure, he could be dramatic, but his trade was teaching others to be actors. He often said that it was in his first play, as a player, that he fell in love with plays and presenting stories. He realized that being in front of the audience was not his gift, but he learned the trade of directing, and in that he gifted many audiences.

John was involved in bringing musical presentations to life at Temple United Methodist while still in high school. He directed and performed in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and an original play set to the music of Godspell, Three Years and a Promise. He helped establish and wrote for the drama set of the coffee house ministry, Our Father's House. During this time, he was able to share his love of the medium and put the bug in many hearts to entertain and teach through drama.

John was a man who was not afraid of work. He served as a Stage Manager for Dunfey's Dinner Theater from 1974 to 1976. He worked with the Baytown Little Theater, the Klein Forest High School theater and the Alley Theater from 1976 to 1984. He was a Wardrobe Assistant and member of the Theatrical Wardrobe Union Local 896 from 1976 to 2010. He worked with the Houston Ballet for over twenty years as a dresser for The Nutcracker each year. He also worked with the Houston Orchestra and went on the road as a dresser.

Once upon a time, he was worked as a seasonal Santa Claus. He had a lovely story about his aunt who came to sit on his lap while he was on duty as Santa. Boy, was she surprised!

John earned his BA and MA in Theater from the University of Houston. He was offered a position at HCC earning his master's degree while teaching. He developed the drama program for HCC Stafford. He spent 33 wonderful years teaching many young students about the theater. He learned his craft by doing technical work behind the scenes, lighting and sound design, studying other directors and bringing his own vision to life by directing many, many plays.

John taught performance through his direction; he taught classes in ESL, Voice & Diction and Speech. John was the Theater Director for 120 plays or about four plays a year at HCC; he was reading and reviewing scripts for the next play, before the curtain for the current production had been down for more than a few hours.

John worked tirelessly: for those folks in Richmond, Texas, he was the creative genius behind the Shakespeare productions at the George Library; in Brenham, he was a resident artist for two years at the Unity Theater. All in his "free" time.

He also created and directed several original pieces: Hey Look Us Over: A musical extravaganza to welcome new Chancellor Charles Green featuring over 75 HCC employees; The Wizard of Waugh: A musical performance welcoming the new Chancellor Dr. Ruth Burgos-Sasser; and Suevenir: A farewell tribute to outgoing Southwest College President, Dr. Sue Cox.

John also served ten years at HCC as the Fine Arts & Speech Department Chairman and five years as the Division Chair of Fine Arts, Speech, Language and Humanities until reorganization occurred in 2015. He was also a consultant on the planning and development of The Stafford Centre.

During his long career, John was recognized as Educator of the Year; received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence; the Bedichek Distinguished Service Award; the Faculty Mentor Award for the Western Region; and he was one of four finalists for the National Faculty Mentor Award given by the Association of Community College Trustees.

John loved to travel. He enjoyed time spent in Colorado with his family as a child, and recounted many fond stories of the drives, shoulder to shoulder in front and rear seats. He particularly enjoyed imitating the sound of the top of a Vienna sausage can being cracked open by his aunt, the juice being poured carefully out of the window, and her comments as she offered everyone a snack. Evidently, one round was the total enjoyment of this luxury!

John and his parents made several trips to Branson, Missouri where they went to every show. Several trips. Every show.

Later, John traveled with good friends to Alaska to see the glacier and the whales. He went twice to Canada to visit Banff and Lake Louise. He even blogged a bit about the wildlife he encountered daily. He also visited the National Parks. One of his favorite memories of that trip was the instant the helicopter over the Grand Canyon bumped up and then down into the canyon. The joy in his face at that scene was worth the price of the helicopter.

John was a gentleman and a gentle man. He loved to drive, but never raged at other drivers. He did not raise his voice. He was respectful using the words ma'am and sir. He did not complain. He was the epitome of patience. He had a twinkle in his eye and a laugh in his grin.

John loved working crossword puzzles. He was good at working the clues in his head, only occasionally asking to see the puzzle. He was so amused about how hard he and his crossword buddy worked on solving the puzzles with five academic degrees between them, that his elderly father, easily solved without any higher education.

John touched many lives. He leaves behind many students, life-long friends, colleagues and his dear family. He is survived by his mother Eugenia Mae Corley, his sister Helen Corley, his brother and sister-in-law, Steven and Paula Onxley, nephews Matthew Onxley, nieces Sarah Onxley and Tova Rosas,; great nieces and great nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by sister Sharon Onxley, and his beloved father, C. Markham Corley.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in John's name to a charity of your choice.