George C. Corey

George Corey – lawyer, renowned railroad enthusiast and chronicler, photographer, lover of nature and back road adventures, seeker of truth and justice – died peacefully on November 26, 2024, just nine days shy of his 100th birthday, with his remarkable clarity and enthusiasm for life evident to the last. Over his century of life, George developed countless friendships across all ages and circles of interest. His kindness, generosity, intellect, wit, and humility drew people to him. A “true gentleman” many have said. 

Born in Boston on December 5, 1924, George Cruft Corey was the son of late Dorothy (Peters) and Eben Corey. He graduated from the Cambridge School of Weston in 1942 and went on to serve in the U. S. Army in World War II, during the D-Day Invasion in Northern France, where he received a Purple Heart. Upon returning from military service, George enrolled at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, graduating with his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1950. He went on to earn his Juris Doctorate in 1953 from Boston University. He began his law practice in 1953, moving his office to Gardner in 1956, where he practiced for 51 years until his retirement in 2007. 

George was a community activist, a strong proponent of civil rights, affordable housing and access to mental health services. He played a key role in many community organizations including the Gardner Jaycees, the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce, the Gardner-Athol Mental Health Assn., North Central Human Services, H.O.P.E. (House of Peace and Education), the Gardner Democratic Committee, and was founding member of the Gardner Community Land Trust. At his death, he was the longest serving member of the Lions Club, where he was Lion of the Year (1987) and King Lion (1994-1995). 

While an attorney by profession, George also considered himself a railroad man and a photographer. His interest in railroads began in early childhood with the gift of his first camera, a Kodak Baby Brownie. It blossomed into a lifetime of chronicling trains through the evolution of medium-format film cameras, processing his own work from his early twenties onward. He spent many years hefting around a Hasselblad and its lenses, making images of historic landscapes, birds, flowers, and beautiful family portraits. In his early 70s, he slowly retired his darkroom as he wholeheartedly embraced digital photography, becoming a master of his cameras’ automations, Macintosh computers, Photoshop software, and scanning and printing his own work. He continued his craft right into this last year of his life despite the challenges of failing eyesight, limited mobility, and numbing fingers. 

George is widely admired within the railroading community for not only his photography, but also the sharing of his encyclopedic knowledge of 20th century steam locomotives and railroad history. In 2021, Classic Trains magazine published his and his friend Stan Bolton’s photographs in an article titled “Hidden Masters of Steam.” In 2022, the Boston & Maine Railroad Historical Society published his book of photographs and related stories, George Corey’s Boston & Maine. Early in 2025, his second book, Central Vermont: Through the Lenses of George C. Corey and Stanwood Bolton, will be published by the Central Vermont Railroad Historical Society early in 2025. George made arrangements to donate, after his death, the extensive archive of his black-and-white negatives and color slides to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art in Madison, WI. 

Following his retirement at age 84, George travelled near and far, delighted in his grandchildren and family vacations in Maine, and continued to pursue his railroad, photography, and intellectual interests with gusto. He ate daily at Suzette’s Breakfast and Lunch Shop where he enjoyed vigorous conversations and formed some of his most cherished friendships.

George is survived by his two daughters, Cherrie Corey and her husband John Nevins of Marlboro, VT and Carol Corey and her husband Martin McWhirr of Sharon, CT; granddaughter, Rosie Nevins and her partner, Jedediah Popp, and grandson, Colin Nevins; and two great-grandchildren, Addi Nevins-Popp and Finn Nevins-Alderfer and Finn’s father, Will Alderfer. George also leaves a sister, Elizabeth C. Bourquin of Wells, ME and several nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by siblings, John Corey, Ruth Baldwin, and Rosita Corey. George also leaves a circle of devoted friends and aides who have supported him at every turn, especially over the last few years, making it possible for him to stay in his own home throughout.

A Celebration of George's Life will be held Saturday, January 11, 2025, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Colonial Hotel- Ballroom, 625 Betty Spring Road, Gardner, MA.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the North County Land Trust, 325 Lindell Avenue, Leominster, MA 01453, or on their website at (www.northcountylandtrust.org/tribute/) or to the Gardner Community Action Committee (CAC), 294 Pleasant Street, Gardner, MA 01440. Please mark gifts "In Memory of George C. Corey."