Ronald Gene Corley, M.D.

Funeral services for Ronald Gene Corley, M.D., 78, of Lufkin will be held Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at Lufkin’s First Baptist Church with Brother Randy McClelland officiating. Eulogist will be Robert L. Flournoy and honorary minister is Brother Billy Jackson. Interment will follow in the Largent Cemetery.

Dr. Corley was born May 26, 1937 in Ringgold, Louisiana to the late Annie Thelma (Norrell) and Edward Leon Corley, and died Wednesday, August 19, 2015 in a local hospital.

Dr. Corley attended college at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, graduating with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering. He attended LSU Medical School in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1960-1964, receiving his M.D. degree and was awarded the Urban Mae’s award for outstanding student in surgery. Dr. Corley took part of his residency in surgery at Charity Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana and in New Orleans, Louisiana before entering the U.S. Air Force 354th Tactical Squadron in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He served as Captain and Chief Flight Surgeon, flying in the F-100 Super Sabre from 1966-1968. He then finished his orthopaedic surgery residency at Medical College of Virginia and at LSU Medical Center. He joined Dr. Roy Leamon and Dr. Tom Jackson in Lufkin to begin his practice.

He practiced orthopaedic surgery for 35 years in Lufkin from 1971 until his retirement in 2006. He performed the first total hip and knee joint replacements done in Lufkin and East Texas. Because of doing early joint replacements before they were common in other places, many out of state residents became his patients. He loved the practice of Orthopaedic Surgery, and practicing with his associates, Dr. Ed Domingue and Dr. Dan Carter. He frequently told proudly of their 30+ year connection in which no angry word was ever experienced between them.

After his retirement from surgical practice, Dr. Corley began working at the Lufkin State Supported Living Center in 2007 as a faculty physician serving the patients as a family doctor, and serving the staff as their injury doctor. He served as Medical Director from June 2014 until his death.

Dr. Corley married his wife Karan in 1972. They have 13 children, 27 grandchildren, two on the way, and five great-grandchildren. He most enjoyed his children and family. He loved to cook and is remembered for his Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner special dishes and serving 30-40 of his family “on time”.

Dr. Corley taught his children to water ski and to snow ski. Snow skiing was his favorite sport. He enjoyed hunting in the Gila Wilderness, and summer horseback riding and camping there with his children.

Dr. Corley was raised as a Baptist. He had a “born again” experience in 1982 at age 45 that greatly changed his life. He was a member of Word of Life Church.

In 1984, Dr. Corley joined 14 other Christian men to produce an outdoor musical production of the life of Christ. Out of that group came “Worthy is the Lamb”, done at Swansboro, South Carolina for about 10 years in an ocean side amphitheater. Then, with the county of Somervell building a 3500 seat amphitheater, with state of the art sound and light, “THE PROMISE” opened in 1989 at Glen Rose, Texas. Since that time, audience members from over 100 countries have attended along with a million other visitors to experience the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in a wonderful live, musical setting. In 1993 and 1994, The Promise was performed on stage at the Kremlin Palace, the first Christian presentation ever done in the Russian State Palace. The Promise was presented in Seoul, Korea in the 80,000 seat Olympic Stadium, using the largest stage ever assembled in the world. Millions more have watched the show on Christian television. It was performed for six years in Branson, Missouri. In 2002, Dr. Corley reorganized the production as “The Promise in Glen Rose”, and has been president or vice-president of it since that time, serving as the only original board member continuously since its inception. He has served as producer and actor along with his wife Karan, and several of their children. Since Glen Rose is 200 miles from Lufkin, he liked to remind others that over the years, he and Karan have traveled over 500,000 miles to the play, the same distance to the moon and back.

Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Karan A. Corley of Lufkin; children and their spouses, Wade and Barbara Corley of Lufkin, Jeffrey and Greta Frusha of Cedar Creek, Ward and Annette Corley of New Caney, Glenn Frushay of Lufkin, Eric and Terri Corley of Spring, Payton and Kathleen McCray of Hallsville, Karisa and Spencer Burke of Crockett, Reid and Sylvia Corley of San Diego, California, Julia and Zack Smith of Mansfield, Joy and Stephen Boon of Austin, David Corley of Austin, and Justus and Jenny Corley of Houston; grandchildren, Scott Corley, Kristin Corley, Anna-Lesa Frusha, Jessica Ross, Samuel Ross, Cody Ross, Maria Ross, Steven Frusha, Matthew Frusha, Charles Daniel Frusha, Noah Frusha, Kason Frusha, Joshua Corley, Jamie Corley, Makenzie Corley, Alexandra McCray, Ryan Bunch, Will McCray, Bailey Corley, Nicholas Corley, Alexander Burke, Benjamin Burke, Catherine Burke, Mia Luz Corley, McPherson Smith, Anderson Smith, Jameson Smith, and two more grandchildren expected in the winter; and great-grandchildren, Wyatt Bell, Adrian Rivera-Frusha, Carley Rivera-Frusha, Isiah Rivera-Frusha, and Harrison Lance Corley Penadella.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Lance Corley; brother, Raymond Edward Corley; and the mother of four of his children, Anita Lesha Corley.

Pallbearers will be David Tankersley, Dr. Steve Harris, Clay McElveen, B.J. Oliver, Spencer Burke, Zack Smith, Stephen Boon, and Kurt England.

Honorary pallbearers will be Robert Joe Giddens, Bob Flournoy, Joe Gann, Dr. Edward Domingue, Simon Purvis, Dr. Dan Carter, Dr. Brian Carlin, Philiph Hobson, and Travis Tyre.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Promise at Glen Rose, 5000 Texas Drive, Glen Rose, Texas 76043.

The family will welcome friends and loved ones from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday evening at Carroway Funeral Home.

Memories and condolences may be added at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.

Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.