Dr. Rev. William H. Corley, 74, Clarksville, died Thursday, November 20, 2008, at St. Thomas Hospital, Nashville.
The funeral will be held at noon Monday at The Community Church, Jack Miller Boulevard, Clarksville, with the Revs. Harold Witmer, James Hunt, David Wesner, Leon Parker and Dr. Richard Worsham officiating. Burial will be in Kentucky Veterans Cemetery-West, Hopkinsville, with full military honors.
Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. today at the funeral home and from 11 a.m. until the time of service Monday at the church. Pallbearers will be chaplains of the Tennessee State Guard. Honorary pallbearers will be elders and deacons of The Community Church. McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Rev. Corley received his Bachelor of Arts from Union College in Barbourville, Ky., his Master of Religious Education and Master of Divinity from Lexington Theological Seminary; Doctor of Philosophy, Clayton University, Clayton, Mo.; Doctor of Philosophy, Louisiana Baptist University, Shreveport, La. Dr. Corley is an ordained bishop in The Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction.
Dr. Corley has served as pastor of The Community Church for more 30 years. He was also president of the North Tennessee Bible Institute, and a corporate consultant specializing in personal deficiencies.
Chaplain Corley was chief of chaplains of the The Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction and was recently commissioned a brigadier general. He had formerly served with the 100th Division of the USAR.
Brother Bill was vice chairman of the Clarksville Ministerial Association, volunteer chaplain at Gateway Memorial Hospital, chairman of the Gateway Memorial Hospital, , first chaplain of the The Holy Orthodox Church, American Jurisdiction and Clarksville Fire Department.
He was a member of the Boy Scouts of America. He was also a former Chairman of the Foster Home Care Review Board. He served as a member of the Association of Integrative Medicine-Diplomat, member of the College of Pastoral Counseling. Chaplain Corley servesd as an adviser on several university boards and was a consultant for one of the largest marketing agencies in the country.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara P. Corley of 50 years; two sons, Robert Powell Corley and wife Jeanie of Nicholasville, Ky., William (Chip) Harold Corley Jr. and wife Rosa of West Palm Beach, Fla.; two daughters, Elizabeth (Dee Dee) Corley and fiance David Glassford, M.D., of Nashville, and Christy Corley Sanders and husband Jim, Clarksville; sister, Virginia Corley Freeman, Hilton Head, S.C.; godmother, Valeta Baker, Lakeland, Fla.; grandchildren, Robert (Robbie) Barkley Corley and wife Brittney, Ashleigh Corley, William (Chipper) H. Corley III, Meagen Corley, Julia Corley, Jessica Sanders, Chalan Sanders.
His professional interests were always serving in the ministerial capacity with a major emphasis on training new ministers; his avocations were innumerable. His greatest love was serving HIS LORD.
Pallbearers will be chaplains of the Tennessee State Guard. Honorary pallbearers will be elders and deacons of The Community Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Community Church Family Life Center or North Tennessee Bible Institute Scholarship Fund, PO Box 3337, Clarksville, TN 37043.
Arrangements in the care of McReynolds-Nave & Larson Funeral Home, 931-647-3371. Online condolences may be made at www.navefuneralhomes.com.
