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John Corkery III's graduation photograph from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto.1943
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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John's family was very anxious to see him proceed in school. After the war he had friends who were lawyers, he had 2 brothers-in-law who were lawyers and other family members who were lawyers, he was surrounded by a lot of people who were lawyers. With the money available from the Department of Veteran's Affairs for veterans to go to school he decided that going to law school was the best thing to do.29
John Corkery talks about coming home to work as a lawyer.9 March 2006
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
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John got his law degree Osgood Hall and returned to Peterborough. There were only 27 lawyers in Peterborough when he started and now there are over one hundred. He notes that the population of the city hasn't increased at the same rate as the number of lawyers has!31
John Corkery III in his uniform. John was a member of the 13th Field Regiment.1943
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
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When John finished university in 1943 he joined the army. He was overseas for 2 and a half years and was in the 13th Field Regiment, an Artillery regiment. John joined that regiment in England and met up with them while they were in action in France. He served in France and Germany where he worked on the artillery board. A call would come from the artillery officer (Forward Observation Officer or FOO), who would call back the targets. John and a friend worked together. They had two artillery boards and they had to plot the target on the board and both of the boards had to be the same. He and his friend would plot the boards separately and then compare them after to make sure they matched. John volunteered to fight in the Pacific but he landed back home in Canada on VJ Day and that was the end of the war. This was in August and he started law school in September.33
John Corkery III's wedding to his wife Bennery.19 November 1960
Connecticut, United States of America
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He met his wife Bennery because of his relatives in the United States. He met her through her brother's wife who was a Canadian from Toronto. Bennery was from Connecticut. John would go down every now and then and visit his relatives. He had friends who had a place along the shore in New Jersey and he would go to visit them. Bennery would go there also and they would spend time together at the friend's place in New Jersey. They ‘courted' for about a year or a year and a half. She would come up to Peterborough to see him and met his family. They were married in Connecticut in 1960.The couple came back to Peterborough to live. At first they lived in a house on Wallis Drive where John had lived before their wedding. They lived there for about 2 or 3 years before moving to the house where they currently live. John and Bennery have five children and 13 grandchildren. Two of his children became lawyers. John told his children who wanted to become lawyers that it would be a good thing for them to do but he never pushed them to enter the profession.
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John Corkery III's son Chris Corkery and his granddaughter Hannah.2003
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
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John believes that although the city is much bigger now there is nothing he can think of to be critical about in the changes that have happened. He says that if he was graduating from law school now he would still want to come to Peterborough to practice law because it is his home town and he has friends here. |
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