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John Corbin

March 10, 2023
Kalamazoo, MI

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Corbin, John Dr. John Hiron Corbin, 90, passed away March 10, 2023, at home surrounded by his loving family. John Corbin was born November 28, 1932, to Lucille Frances (Henderson) and Hiron Franklin Corbin on the family farm near Armada, Michigan. Following his honorable discharge as a bandsman from U.S. Army in 1955, he enrolled as an English major at Eastern Michigan University and graduated with BS (1959) and MA (1961) degrees. He taught in Detroit; Lorain, Ohio; Ann Arbor; and New Concord, Ohio, before joining the faculty at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. His doctoral work in educational leadership at Western Michigan University taught him to apply statistical analysis and evaluation to student academic performance and learning environments: His dissertation examined factors that contribute to students' achievement. He completed his doctorate in 1985 and retired as emeritus professor of English and Philosophy in 2012 after 42 years with KVCC. In addition to literature and language studies, Dr. Corbin maintained a lifelong passion for his French horn and classical music. In the 1950s, the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) assigned him to the Navy's School of Music in Washington D.C. where his brass quintet performed in local military post chapels and churches, including a service at Foundry Methodist church attended by First Lady and President Eisenhower on her birthday. Although he noted that 1954 performance was the peak of his musical career, Dr. Corbin played in regional orchestras and filled in for Eastern Michigan University musical productions. An avid cyclist, birder and outdoorsman, Dr. Corbin participated in several RAGBRAI bicycle rides across Iowa, and he made annual kayaking trips to Isle Royale. He kept the bird feeders in his yard topped off and enjoyed watching the wildlife in his neighborhood. Dr. Corbin is survived by his beloved wife, Carmen; daughters Kristine Lubben of LaPorte City Iowa, Karen Climis of Ansonia, Connecticut, and Jocelyn Hemming of Madison, Wisconsin; stepdaughters Monica Curtis of Jackson Michigan, and Ursula Richards of Wuppertal Germany; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. A gathering to celebrate the life of Dr. Corbin will be Saturday, May 13, 2023, from 1-4 pm, at the Kalamazoo Nature Center's Cooper's Glen Auditorium, 7000 N. Westnedge Ave. Kalamazoo, MI. Memorial gifts in Dr. Corbin's honor may be made to Public Broadcasting Service, Isle Royale National Park, or the National Audubon Society.