James Robert Corey

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to either Rotary International (https://www.endpolio.org/) or your local Rotary Club.

James Robert Corey, most recently a resident of Atascadero, Ca, passed away peacefully in his apartment on the evening of June 23, 2026. For two months prior to his passing, he had been under the care of hospice, having experienced a rapid decline over the previous year exacerbated by dementia. He was 79 years old.

Jim was born June 15, 1947 in Campbell, Ca. His parents were James William Corey and Katherine Josephine Corey (nee Bakich.) He graduated Campbell High School in 1965. While in high school he discovered a love of technical theater. According to Jim, this started as a way to get out of work in his chemistry class; apparently his teacher had been placed in charge of the school’s auditorium, and was willing to trade light and sound work for an A grade in chemistry. Jim worked with local theater productions, including the San Jose Civic Light Opera. It was during a production of Stop the World, I Want to Get Off that he met Jean Ann Corey, the talented and beautiful girl singing the show’s lead. The couple eventually married on May 6, 1967 at Queen of the Apostles church in Saratoga. Jim and Jean lived in San Jose for two years; Jim worked at a local print shop while Jean completed her nursing degree.

The couple then moved to San Francisco, where Jim graduated from college at San Francisco State with a degree in business. He continued to work in the printing industry, setting type and running presses for the San Francisco Chronicle, but they both found time for theater, working a lounge act at The Cats of Los Gatos. Jim also worked with high school friend, inventing a new type of theatrical lighting dimmer, which led the two men to found the lighting equipment company Tetronics. Though he eventually sold his company shares to his partner, Corey remembers how much he appreciated the $50 monthly income they provided in the early years of the firm. He also managed an apartment building in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. In 1972 they had a daughter, Mary Kay, and in 1976, a son, Bill.

About this time Jim left printing and shifted to real estate, founding his own brokerage, The Arches. However, Jim discovered he did not enjoy the San Francisco real estate culture, and the couple decided it was time for a major change. They moved north to Sebastopol and Jim went to work for Windsor Vineyards, managing their letterpress department where he set type on a linotype machine and printed custom wine labels. After a few years it was a logical progression for the business minded Jim to once again strike off on his own, founding his own printing company, The Wine Press, producing wine labels for local boutique wineries. First located in the basement of his personal home, the business eventually grew to fifteen full-time employees.

It was in Sebastopol that Jim first became involved in Rotary. He joined the local club and soon became a mainstay, working tirelessly on community projects, serving on the board and as club president. He was especially proud of the club’s relationship with a sister club in Puerto Vallarta, traveling to Mexico multiple times for outreach and charity activities. As president he attended Rotary’s International Convention in Australia where he became inspired by the Rotary International Foundation. He believed passionately in their mission to globally eradicate Polio, and purchased Paul Harris Fellowships for his children to help fund this goal. In Sebastopol he also was president of the local school board for a number of years and a prominent member of the Community Church of Sebastopol. He kept up all these community activities even after the family moved to nearby Santa Rosa in 1986.

After their children had graduated high school and started their own lives, and after they had closed the successful printing company, Jim and Jean followed a dream and moved back to San Francisco, where Jim worked in sales for a local printing company. A few years later they moved to Fresno, where Jim did the same for a copy center. Another move to Atascadero and Jim finally officially retired, though he continued to work as a handyman.Their eldest daughter lives in Atascadero, and so Jim and Jean were able to be there for the birth of their grandchild, Ian. When Jean retired in 2012, the Coreys moved once again to Coarsegold, Ca. In all these cities Jim continued as a member of the local Rotary clubs, serving as president again in both the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf club and the Coarsegold club.

Tragically, Jean passed away in 2020, a devastating blow for Jim from which he never truly recovered. He kept moving: to Menifee, then to San Luis Obispo county to be closer to his daughter, where he finally passed.

Through all his life, Jim was extremely social. He believed in local communities and attended countless charity events supporting local causes. He was an expert at live auctions and knew how to upbid items with a quiet smirk so the eventual winner ended up paying quite a bit more than they originally intended—all to benefit whatever organization was staging the event. He loved cooking, taking charge of family dinners fairly early in his marriage to Jean and cooking nightly for her until she died. The two of them together delighted in entertaining, inviting friends for multi-course meals, always served with wine. Indeed, a nice glass of red was one of Jim’s greatest pleasures in life. If he wasn’t cooking then they were going out to eat, something Jim considered essential for enjoying life; indeed he loved the arcane rituals of an elaborate restaurant meal. Jim relished dressing up and would look for excuses to wear his tuxedo, searching for restaurants that required formal wear.

Another great pleasure was travel. First in a camper van during the early years of their marriage, later in a series of motor homes, Jim and Jean criss-crossed the country multiple times. They also traveled internationally: for Rotary, for business, and for their own pleasure. Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Europe. Jim was a fearless traveler and didn’t think twice about going somewhere he didn’t know the language, or driving in a foreign country. He also had a lifelong love for machinery, woodworking and home projects and would tackle anything from a laundry room addition to a bookshelf for his grandson. And finally, he loved cars. Ever since his teenage years he drove some kind of car that had some kind of problem, and always prided himself on doing all his own mechanic work.

Jim was preceded in death by his older sister, Linda Marie Cordova (nee Corey.) He is survived by his daughter, Mary Katherine Corey, his son, William Robert Corey, his grandson, Ian Patrick McPherron, and nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.

There will be no service; instead, a mass will be held for him at St. William’s in Atascadero. To honor Jim’s memory we ask that you go out to dinner. Pick a restaurant that isn’t part of a chain—somewhere local. If it happens to be Italian, so much the better. And if the spirit moves you, have a glass of red wine in his memory.