Corry Frank Azzi

Corry Azzi was born in Chicago on February 12, 1944. He graduated from Lawrence University summa cum laude in 1965 and was a Woodrow Wilson Scholar at Harvard University in a PhD program in economics.

Emeritus Professor Corry Frank Azzi was well known by all Lawrence students from 1970 until his retirement in 2002. He continued to teach Econometrics until 2010. His ability to teach and to relate to his students was impressive, so much so that he was offered a tenured position at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts in the early 1980s, where all he would have to do was teach. He declined the offer, wanting to stay in the Midwest.

Corry was not an “ivory tower” professor, getting involved in activities throughout Northeast Wisconsin from helping line up kids for YMCA swim meets to running groups and organizations. He learned to hunt under the tutelage of the late Peter Fritzell and then became involved with the Ruffed Grouse Society of Northeastern Wisconsin. By the end of his presidency, it had become two societies: one for Green Bay and one for the Fox Cities. He also became involved with the Tri-County Ice Arena, and as treasurer of the Board of Directors, oversaw the raising of funds which allowed the ice surface pipes to be encased in concrete, so the Arena could be used as an exhibition center year-round. At this time, he and several other board members started a small business to help a mutual friend.  At the end of three years, a Milwaukee company bought their company, and all the men got their investments back. He breakfasted one Wednesday a month with the Fox Cities Convention and Tourist Bureau to help determine how best to allocate the hotel tax. His love of baseball led him to become a coach for Babe Ruth and the Appleton Rebels over a span of ten years. He accepted the challenge of being a weekend “father” to three different students from the A Better Chance program who came to Appleton for high school and a better chance to attend and graduate from a good college: Keith Dunaville, who graduated from Xavier and now lives in Hawaii, Kevin Lee, who graduated from Appleton East and then from Dartmouth College and Jose Garcia, who also graduated from Appleton East, then from Oberlin College, and then from the Ohio College of Medicine in Toledo. It is impossible to determine how many lives he touched and how many friends he has.

He will be missed most by his wife of fifty-six years, Jane and their children Melissa Azzi Swamy, Memphis, Tennessee, and Peter Azzi, Denver, Colorado. Further, he will be missed by the family’s two ABC sons, Kevin Lee of Tampa, Florida and Jose Garcia of Cleveland, Ohio.  He will also be missed by his grandchildren: Lilly Jean Azzi, Eliza Rose Azzi, Violet Helen Swamy, Jay Dominic Swamy, and adopted grandchild Demiah Jones. He was predeceased by his parents Jean and Frank Azzi, who came to live in Appleton in 1999.

Over the past six years Corry was part of a Mayo Clinic study on pulmonary hypertension and a 24/7 biologic to keep patients with this problem living a comfortable daily life. We would like to thank cardiologist Dr. Robert Frantz at the Mayo Clinic for those six extra years, as well as rheumatologist Dr. Paul Utrie and pulmonologist Dr. Robert Nonn. Special thanks to family physician Dr. Aaron Douglas who coordinated all of them and made Jane come in for annual physicals. We also thank Heartland Hospice at Home, De Pere, for answering all our questions and being ready to help, especially Mike and RN Nikki. A final thanks goes out to the ER staff at Appleton Medical Center on Saturday, January 8^th for their assistance on a chaotic day.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lawrence University or to the Mayo Clinic.