1960 Corkey
Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Corkey first came to Charlotte in 1955 to serve as Assistant Health Director for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and by 1959 she had been promoted to Acting Director of the Mecklenburg County Health Department. Previously, she had served as a medical missionary to China and taught in a Shanghai hospital. During World War II, she and her husband were imprisoned in a concentration camp after Manchuria fell to the Japanese army. In addition to heading the Mecklenburg County Health Department, she held membership in many organizations, including the Mecklenburg Sanitorium, the Mental Health Association and Mental Health Clinic and the Charlotte Society for Prevention of Blindness. Dr. Corkey's kind and caring attitude and her interest in listening to the concerns of each and every person endeared her to the city of Charlotte where she was known as a "physician to the community."