RIP, John. I will always remember him as a delightful always pleasant smiling gentleman. Cheers for your lifetime accomplishments as you take your well-deserved rest in eternal peace and harmony. RIP, Sir!
John Michael Korn Jr
July 24, 1935 ~ June 5, 2025
Born in:
Bucyrus, Ohio
Resided in:
Stone Mountain, Georgia
John Michael Korn, Jr., 89, Stone Mountain, GA, originally of Bucyrus, Ohio died after a courageous and determined three year battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare neuro-degenerative disease.
Born July 24, 1935, John spent his early Ohio years in Bucyrus and then Galion and was a member of the 1953 graduating class at Galion High School.
He went on to graduate from the University of Dayton in 1957 with a degree in economics and management.
It was here that he became part of the “Flyer Faithful” and eventually held the position of Southern Regional Governor for the Alumni Association. In 1976 he was instrumental in creating a thriving UD Alumni Chapter in Atlanta where he served as President for many years.
He was awarded the honor of Governor Emeritus by the President of The University of Dayton for his years of service on the National Alumni Board.
His UD legacy continued when his oldest grandson, Jack, became a fellow alum as a graduate of the class of 2023, which only added to their close knit bond.
After graduation from college, John began his 50 year career with the US Public Health Service. He started in Cincinnati with the Ohio Department of Health in the Communicable Disease Department and in the summer of ’59 oversaw a Migrant Labor Health Survey in Salisbury, MD, on the Eastern Shore.
While renting an apartment in the Tilghman Mansion in Salisbury, he met his next door neighbor and his future wife, Carolyn Cramer. They married the following June in 1960 and celebrated a happy 49 years of marriage filled with laughs, love and lots of fun prior to her passing in 2009.
His career continued with the Baltimore City Health Service before moving to Alexandria, VA where he worked as a Cancer Control Grants Officer at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in Washington D.C.
Later he moved to the Public Health Regional Office in Charlottesville, Virginia where he was a consultant for the Division of Neurological and Sensory Disease.
It was here where he became a father to his only child, Julie.
In 1969, the family moved to northern Virginia, where he was a Deputy Chief Program Director for the National Clearing House for Smoking and Health. In 1974, he was transferred to Atlanta where the family settled in Stone Mountain.
He spent the remainder of his 32 years in Public Health at the Centers for Disease Control. At CDC, he worked in the Bureau of Health Education as a Supervisory Public Health Advisor for the National Center for Chronic Prevention and Health Promotion where he oversaw and planned state and community health programs nationally.
He received numerous career achievement awards for his half century of service, including the CDC/ Directors Health Promotion and Education Advocacy Award for serving as a champion for advocating and promoting the science of health promotion and national disease nation wide. He was a long time member of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, as well as the Association of State and Territorial Directors of Health Promotion and Public Health Education and after retiring, a member of the Atlanta Chapter of NARFE.
Outside of work, John was always on the go. His work and
travels with Carolyn took him to all 50 states and the
territories – and it wouldn’t have been uncommon for him to break up a trip to the Pacific Northwest to attend a Seattle Mariners or Seattle SuperSonics game. Sports was his avocation and he lived and died with UD Flyer basketball, Clemson football and the Atlanta Braves and Hawks.
Musically, he was hooked on Sinatra and the Beach Boys!
He remained in remarkable shape through his 80s and had great fun challenging his grand kids to physical fitness impromptus. Sometimes those challenges spilled into his grandkids’ ‘field days’ at their schools where he’d help orchestrate one event or another. Even as Jack and Ben would call him “Pop Korn,” he embraced the notion that a senior citizen could still be active and vibrant.
He possessed an easy charisma and was noted by friends and family for his utter lack of ego; he’d rather ask you how you were doing and what you were up to. But most of all, he’ll be remembered by his family for the love and affection he had for his siblings, who idolized him, and his daughter, son-in-law, and grand kids who beamed whenever he arrived.
He will be missed and mourned forever by his devoted daughter, Julie Korn Batten and son-in-law, Jeffrey T. Batten of Tucker; two adoring grandsons, John and Benjamin Batten of Tucker, sister Sheila Korn of Columbus, Ohio, brother, Thomas Korn of Bucyrus, Ohio and companion, Margaret Jagger of Decatur. He is predeceased by his father, John Michael Korn, Sr. and Virginia Creamer Korn of Galion, Ohio.
A 2pm memorial mass will be held Friday, June 20 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Stone Mountain.
In lieu of flowers, donations made be made on line as a tribute gift to the Cure PSP
Organization (psp.org). Korn, John Michael
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