Florence Fleming Corley

Florence Fleming Corley (Florrie), age 91, died peacefully on the morning of August 18, 2024, at her home in Marietta, Georgia. Florrie was born on January 6, 1933, in Augusta, Georgia, to William Cornelius Fleming and Sarah Virginia Sibley Fleming. She was the only sister to three brothers: William Henry Fleming II, Samuel Hale Sibley Fleming, and Lamar Lafayette Fleming (all now deceased). The family lived in the little house behind her Fleming grandparents at 2631½ Walton Way. They were members of First Presbyterian Church of Augusta. Florrie remembered growing up during the Great Depression and World War II, when she could attend a movie for a nickel. She wore her Girl Scout uniform with pride, saluting the flag with fervor, buying defense stamps, planting a Victory Garden, and collecting scrap metal and paper. She took her ration book with her to Camp Juliette Low on Lookout Mountain in Cloudland, Georgia, so the camp could buy rationed food items. She loved the rustic camp life and learned to cook bacon and eggs over a campfire, a skill which later came in handy on family camping trips. Florrie graduated from all-girls Tubman High School in Augusta, Georgia, in 1950 and then majored in history at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, graduating with high honors and Phi Beta Kappa recognition in 1954. She was one of the first women awarded the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, which she used to study Civil War and Georgia history at Emory University (1954-1955). Her master’s degree thesis on the pivotal role of Augusta during the Civil War was published by University of South Carolina Press in 1960 as a large hardcover book, loaded with pictures, titled Confederate City: Augusta, Georgia 1860-1867 (second printing 1974). Florrie met her husband, James Weaver Corley, Jr. (called Jimmy or Jim), at a seminar offered by her Emory professor at Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park. For Jimmy it was “love at first sight,” and the two were soon dating. They married on December 29, 1955, in Augusta and moved into a small house on McDonald Street in Marietta. The family grew quickly, and soon they traded houses with “Aunt Tabby” (Florence Weldon Sibley) to live in the big Victorian house on Kennesaw Avenue. Astonishingly, Florrie was able to get her book ready for publication while moving, managing three children under age 3 (including twins), and feeling the effects of a fourth baby on the way. At the same time, she was busy sewing dresses, doing flower arrangements for the Cherry Laurel Garden Club, volunteering with the Junior League, and organizing a weekly “play group” for 3-year-olds in the large playroom in her new home. Many of her children’s friends will remember “Miss Florrie” playing the piano as we sang nursery songs like “Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam.” In 1968 Florrie joined the faculty of The Westminster Schools to teach 12th grade United States history. Her students remember her passionately gesticulating towards the many maps and timelines hanging in her classroom. One alumna recently praised her for teaching “the importance of facts.” She was among the first Advanced Placement (AP) teachers and readers, and she loved traveling to Princeton to read and score AP exams with her colleagues. She became an AP Consultant, leading seminars on how to teach AP history. In 1981, while still teaching at Westminster, Florrie began work towards a Ph.D. in history at Georgia State University, which she completed in 1985 with a dissertation titled “Higher Education for Southern Women: Four Church-Related Women’s Colleges in Georgia (1900-1920),” featuring Wesleyan, Shorter, Agnes Scott, and Spelman Colleges. From then on, she was Dr. Corley to her students. From 1989-1998 she was an Assistant Professor of History at Kennesaw State University, where she especially enjoyed teaching how to teach Georgia history. Florrie’s volunteer activities often used her talents as a teacher, writer, and historian. She worked with the Junior League to lay the groundwork for the Cobb County Youth Museum and develop curricula for portable “suitcase exhibits” to be used in schools. As a member of the Anne Hudgens Shakespeare Class (founded 1931), she studied and taught many of Shakespeare’s plays to her fellow scholars. On her birthday, Epiphany, the class often held their traditional 12th Night party at Florrie’s house. While on the Camp Committee for Camp Juliette Low, Florrie wrote The Story of Camp Juliette Low for the camp’s 50th anniversary in 1972 and updated the history in 1988. As a Colonial Dame, she led the committee that wrote The First Hundred Years of the Marietta Town Committee of the National Society of the Colonial Dames in the State of Georgia (1912-2012). At First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Florrie was an Elder. She and Jimmy were driving forces on the committee that wrote and edited God at Work: A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Georgia, 1835-2000. Most memorably, Florrie and Jimmy were beloved teachers in the 3rd grade Sunday school class for over 30 years, hosting special Christmas parties at their home to see the big tree. Florrie and Jimmy were founding members of the Board of Trustees of Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society when it was organized in 1974 and served as co-chairs in 1985, 1986, and 1988. The Corley Award is given in honor of the couple. Alongside her many scholarly projects, Florrie raised a large, happy family with her dear husband Jimmy, to whom she gave much credit for being ahead of his time in helping with childcare. Florrie could put a roast in the oven before Sunday School, walk home and take it out after church, and serve a delicious Sunday dinner for a full table of twelve or more. Sunday dinners and Pawleys Island vacations gave the grandchildren a chance to play and make memories together. Florrie and Jimmy had a romance that grew throughout their long marriage of 61 years until his death in 2017. They had many adventures in their later years: hiking in England and Italy, traveling in Africa, India, China, Australia, and Antarctica; sketching and keeping journals along the way. As a wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Florrie was beloved by all. She is survived by her children, Florence Hart Corley Johnson (Jim), James Weaver Corley III (Carolyn), Anne Corley Herbert (Jack), Sarah Virginia Corley (Neil Peterson), and William Thomas Corley; grandchildren, Alice Johnson DeSimone (Justin), Charles Weldon Johnson (Andrea), James Weaver Corley IV, Carolyn Cater Corley Cosgrove (Brian), Emily Hart Herbert, Eva Caroline Peterson, and Daniel Hale Peterson; seven great-grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews who loved her. A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church of Marietta on Wednesday, August 28, at 2:00 pm. Visitation will be on Tuesday, August 27, from 4:00-7:00 pm at Mayes Ward Dobbins Funeral Home, 180 Church Street, Marietta, Georgia. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Camp Juliette Low (P.O. Box 5113, Marietta, Georgia 30061) or First Presbyterian Church (189 Church Street, Marietta, Georgia 30060).

Florence Fleming Corley

January 6, 1933 - August 18, 2024