Myron "Mike" Lawrence Corets

Myron “Mike” Lawrence Corets, 86, of Los Angeles, died on Friday, July 31, 2015 at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on May 17, 1929 in Manhattan to the late Mark Corets and Bertha Levine Corets. During World War II, Mike was a bike messenger in the Boy Scouts. He was trained to courier messages for Air Raid Wardens. In 1944, Mike joined Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA), the fraternal component of B’nei B’rith Youth Organization. He attended Christopher Columbus High School before he transferred to New York Military Academy. While at NYMA, Mike joined the Chi Sigma Chi (XEX) social fraternity. He played pool, football and lacrosse, ran track, and was an expert marksman on the rifle team, which won the National Hersh Trophy. Mike graduated with Honors from NYMA in 1948. He attended the State University of New York Maritime College for one year to please his father, who had served in the Navy’s Amphibious Forces during both World Wars. He was accepted to the College of Design, Construction and Planning at the University of Florida. Later, he sat on the Advisory Council of the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management. Mike was initiated into the Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity (Florida Delta Chapter) in 1949. He placed in advanced ROTC as a freshman and was inducted into Scabbard & Blade College Military Honor Society for Excellence. He joined the Tau Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity, and the Society of American Military Engineers. He was a member of the Alpha Chapter of The Cavaliers, a world-class competitive junior drum and bugle corps. The tenets of duty appealed to his appreciation of and desire to serve his country. He achieved his Army commission as a sophomore in 1950 and was called to service in 1953. He took a leave of absence from college to begin serving at Fort Belvoir in Virginia in 1954. During the Korean Conflict, he served at Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland. He was in a special category of the Army called SCARWAF, working as a support unit on the Air Force base to build a nuclear evacuation route around its perimeter. He continued his active duty service at Fort Knox in Kentucky and Fort Dix in New Jersey. He honorably separated from the Army in 1956 when his enlistment term concluded, and he returned to Florida to finish his degree. Mike parlayed his Bachelor of Building Construction Degree from the School of Architecture into his first job at U.S. Plywood as a Tech Rep in 1958. He then worked at AMACO and Humble Oil & Refining Co., which became Esso and later Exxon, where he was a senior staff engineer. He was passionate about environmental cleanup and consulting on oil leaks or gas spills. Mike met his wife Suzi at an outdoor concert at Tanglewood in 1967 and they were married in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1968. Mike continued his studies after becoming a father, taking engineering courses during summer training camp at Fort Bragg, North Carolina with the 351st PW Company, as well as special-series classes in Psychological Warfare and Unconventional Warfare at the U.S. Army Special Warfare School. He graduated from U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1982, he joined the Retired Reserve and received a Meritorious Service Medal from the Department of the Army. He continued as a reservist before retiring from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1989 after 35 years of service. Mike commuted to various refineries and service stations all around New York. He retired from Exxon in 1986, although he returned to Exxon for a short while and joined the Exxon Annuitants Club. Mike and Suzi relished the next chapter of their lives, relocating to the Smoky Mountains in 1992. They renewed their wedding vows on Kiawah Island, South Carolina in 1998. Shortly thereafter, Suzi passed away. In the years that followed, Mike’s family blossomed and he continued to pursue his hobbies. He worked with the Oasis Shriners to raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. In 2001, Mike began to winter in California before relocating there. He was a member of the Wilshire Rotary Club of Los Angeles as Sergeant-at-Arms and supported The Rotary Foundation, the Military Officers Association of America, and was a Life Member of the Los Angeles Philatelic Society. An unabashed Gator fanatic, Mike was full of pride for his alma mater. He became a Grand Guard of the University of Florida's Alumni Association in 2009. Mike belonged to Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard Temple. He previously was a member of North Country Reform Temple in Glen Cove and Temple Beth Ha Tephilah in Asheville. Mike achieved status as a 32nd-Degree Scottish Rite Mason. He was first affiliated with Habonim Lodge 1042 in Manhattan, Samaritan Lodge No. 1035 in the Bronx, Glen Cove Lodge No. 580, and Elysian Masonic Lodge No. 418 F.&A.M. in Los Angeles. He became a Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Shrine in 1964. He received his Diamond Jubilee Certificate from Biltmore Lodge No. 446 in Asheville in 2014. The last few years of Mike’s life were some of the richest of all. While his heart will always be in Asheville, he truly loved the last chapter in Los Angeles. His mind was active and his heart was open. We hope memories of Mike will make you smile. Mike is predeceased by his wife, Suzanne Westerman Corets, and half-sister Adele Ginevra Corets. He is survived by his daughters Beth Corets (Al Gough) and Laurie Corets Yankowski (Chris); grandchildren Sydney, Ella, Jasper, Avery and Mason; brother Ellis H. Corets; nieces Eva, Elaine, Marilyn, Linda, Claudie, Marie Christine, and Ginevra; nephews James and Micah; sister-in-law Gail Braman and brother-in-law Edward (Arline) Westerman and many dear friends. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, August 6, 2015 in the Chapel of Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Avenue, with Rabbi Justin Goldstein officiating. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery, 53 Birch Street. Military rites will be rendered by the North Carolina National Guard. Gifts in his memory may be made to Jewish War Veterans, the Humane Society, or any of the causes listed above.

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Myron "Mike" Lawrence Corets

May 17, 1929 - July 31, 2015