During his life, Austin was a devoted husband, a father to seven children, an athlete, a musician, a decorated soldier, a gardener, an inventor, a leader in his chosen field, a teacher, a trainer, a tutor, an advocate of community service and even Santa Claus. He was a true model of a “Renaissance Man”.
Austin was born March 8, 1930 in Shelbyville Michigan to Jerome and Viola (Pardee) Coryell. Austin was the 2nd of 7 siblings and grew up during the Great Depression. As a child, Austin was quite mischievous and always pulled off big pranks with his brothers. He was notorious for these. At a young age Austin learned the meaning of hard work. In the fall it was common for him to lift 100 pound bales of hay all day long in the hot Michigan sun. Austin had a knack for music and at an early age he learned to play both the piano and accordion. He attended nearby Martin High School and lettered in four different sports. He was quite the basketball player.
After graduating in 1948 Austin joined the Marine Corps. During boot camp, his drill Sergeant asked him why he always smiled. Austin told him “I get twice as much sleep and only have to do half the work as I did at home”. Following that remark, Austin was commanded to do everything twice - including pushups. After bootcamp, his drill sergeant told Austin that he was the toughest recruit he ever had.
In the Marines, Austin traveled to many global ports - especially ports in the Mediterranean. Austin was in the Pacific when the Korean War broke out and was reassigned to the 2nd Marine Division Engineering Batallion. Austin and his Division crossed the 38th parallel and went into North Korea. In response, China also crossed the border where 120,000 Chinese soldiers surrounded 30,000 Marines and UN troops at the Chosin Reservoir. Over the next 17 days his Division endured frigid sub-zero temperatures and fought their way to safety. This is one of the most famous battles in Marine history.
During the war Austin received many commendations and two Purple Hearts. His last one occurred when a fellow soldier detonated a land mine and the blast spread shrapnel across his body and caused two dislocated hips. The attending doctor told him he would never be able to have children.
After his discharge in July 1952, Austin traveled to Williamsport Pennsylvania with a war buddy and initially took a night shift job as a machinist with Meredith Avco. He later found a position as a pole climber with Lycoming Cable in the fledgling cable television business. This would be the start of a life-long career.
In Williamsport, Austin also met his life-long partner Rose Protasio. Rose was a waitress at her brother-in-law Al's diner. Austin was a frequent visitor and Rose made sure she was the only one that served him. She fell in love with him and his 1948 canary yellow Olds 98 convertible. Rose's mom Maria also loved him as he was the only man that could eat two plates of her famous spaghetti. The couple married on June 20, 1953 in Williamsport where their first son, Jerome, was born the next March. They added four more boys and two girls over the next nine years. So much for the Marine doctor’s prediction!
In 1962, Austin took a Regional Engineering position with Teleprompter in Elmira New York which at the time owned 14 cable systems across the US. The regional engineering position involved lots of travel. Teleprompter then offered Austin a research and testing position in Winter Haven Florida so he could reduce his travel and be home with family. There Austin and Donald Kirk patented the Gridtronics one channel Pay Per View converter. This was the first ever use of video on demand. Austin went on to pilot full service networks between schools and hospitals using bi-directional communication over cable TV. During this time he became a founding member of the Society of Cable Television Engineers (SCTE).
With his spare time, Austin also gave back to the community. He became a scoutmaster for his son's troops and participated in many scout jamborees. As a Lion Club member, he built an intricate electronic test track to measure a bicyclist's prowess to navigate several complex courses. This test track became the hallmark of the Lion’s annual bicycle rally. At St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Austin acted as the superintendent of the Sunday CCD school. He also played Santa Claus for many years during company Xmas events where sometimes over 200 kids would sit on Santa’s lap. He became an avid gardener and gave his extra Iris bulbs, fruits and vegetables – especially zuchinni – to friends and neighbors.
In 1971, Austin took a Chief Engineer position with ATC to rebuild the Orlando system. There he created the first of many training centers for new installers and service techs. Several of Austin's sons became installers for the Orlando system. He also continued to improve his test labs to evaluate new equipment. In fact, many cable equipment manufacturers relied more heavily on his testing than their own testing teams. During his lunchtime, Austin loved playing basketball at the local YMCA. The future NBA star Darryl Dawkins also played there and often got upset when “Shorty” stole the ball from him.
In November of 1979, Austin was promoted to Director of Engineering and transferred to Denver Colorado. Over the next 20 years Austin continued to build new and improve existing training facilities. He was passionate to teach and train his employees and colleagues. In the late 1980s Austin led the rebuild of the Manhattan NY franchise which at that time was the largest cable TV system in the world.
Austin retired in March of 1999 from cable TV and soon after was honored as a Cable TV Pioneer based on his 48 years of leadership in the industry. An interview of Austin's career can be found here. https://syndeoinstitute.org/the-hauser-oral-history-project/c-listings/austin-coryell/
In 2000 Austin started his second career as a volunteer teacher's assistant with Littleton School District elementary schools. At first, Austin installed or updated the closed-circuit television systems in these schools but his real passion was to assist and tutor students with reading and math deficiencies. Over his 15 year tenure at Littleton School district, he gave upwards of 30,000 hours of personal time to “his” students. It was not uncommon for Austin to be in the neighborhood grocery store and a student would run up to him yelling his name while they gave him a hug.
In 2015 Austin retired again as a teacher assistant to help care for his wife Rose. He visited her every day at the memory care facilities where she resided spreading his good cheer and help to both residents and care-givers alike. After Rose’s passing in 2020 he renewed his interest in jigsaw and number puzzles.
On his deathbed his last breath was an inhale. What else would you expect from a man who inspired so many - just taking it all in one last time.
Austin is preceded in death by
• His wife Rose
• His father Jerome Edward Coryell
• His mother Viola Dorothy Pardee
• His sister Charlene and her husband Emil Sniezek
• His brother Jerome
• His brother Clarence
• His brother Phillip
• His sister June and her husband Ramon Duarte
Austin is survived by
• His sister April and her husband Bob Wellington
• His sister Diana.
• His sister-in-law Myrna
• His son Jerome Coryell, wife Sandy and children Michael, Austin (spouse Chelsea) and Kendra; Also, great-grandchildren Beau and Brianna.
• His son Michael Coryell, wife Tricia and children John (spouse Tori) and Angela; Also, great-grandchild Layla Krauss
• His son Edward Coryell, wife Kay and children Ben (spouse Whitney), Lisa (spouse Zachary Kramer), Jon and Jana (Jacob Wesson); Also, great-grandchildren Layton, Cooper, Casey, Ryan, Charlie and Addie
• His daughter Patricia Hoskinson, husband Mark and their children William and Charles
• His son Phillip, wife Pam and children Christopher (spouse Teresa), Robert (spouse Janay) and Josh; Also, great-grandchildren Quincy, John and Amelia
• His son Tony Coryell, fiance Su and two children Tameryn and Taryn
• His daughter Kathleen Raasch, husband Christopher and their children Jon and Kristen
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