Red Sox great Corke was about integrity
Brian Smiley, Brantford Expositor
A funeral service will be held Thursday for Jamie Corke, one of the Intercounty Baseball League’s top 100 players of all-time and a respected baseball umpire, who died Dec. 6 at the Stedman Community Hospice.
The former Brantford Red Sox player was 64.
The service will begin at noon at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 155 Memorial Dr., Brantford.
A visitation will be held at Dennis Toll Funeral Home, 55 Charing Cross St., Brantford, on Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“My dad was always about integrity, working hard and putting his head down and getting the job done, whether that was as a dad or a husband,” said Mr. Corke’s son, Brandon.
He said his father “immensely” loved his wife, Vicki, through 41 years of marriage.
“There was nothing more important to him than my mom, even up until his last days.”
Growing up, Brandon played baseball but knew he would never reach his dad’s level. Brandon also played golf and looked forward to beating his dad.
“There was never going to be a three-foot miss on 18 to give me the match,” Brandon said. “It was always going to be him pressing, pressing and pressing.
“That was the way it was with dad. If you worked hard, you’ll get the world but … you’re going to have to earn it.”
Brandon said his father worked at Canadian Blue Bird for 36 years and took just three sick days. Following that, he worked at The Marco Corp. for 12 years and never missed a day due to illness.