Louis “Corky” and Lorraine Flynn have been selected as grand marshals of the 85th Suring Labor Day parade and will receive the Senior Citizenship Award at noon Monday at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Suring.
Both have contributed time and talent to various clubs and community activities. It is seldom that you would see one without the other.
Corky was born Oct. 15, 1929, in the town of Breed. He attended Breed Central School through seventh grade and Suring Grade School for eighth grade. He graduated from Mountain High School in 1947. After graduating, Corky spent two years serving his country in the Army engineers.
He married Iva Lorraine Whitney on Feb. 18, 1950, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Suring. They operated a farm on Logan Road in the town of Breed. After selling the farm, Corky worked at Manthie’s cheese factory and then for the Midland Cooperative for many years, delivering gas.
Corky’s Bar came next, and Corky retold the following story of how he and Lorraine became tavern owners: He was walking down Main Street in Suring after lunch and ran into Rupert Haave in front of the Red Owl store. Corky asked him if he wanted to sell his tavern, and Rupert said “Yes.” Now Corky had to go home and tell his wife that they owned a tavern! For the next 26 years, Corky and Lorraine ran Corky’s Bar.
After selling the tavern, they were residents of Suring for a year and a half before purchasing Corky’s father’s (Bill Flynn’s) tavern in the town of Breed. So now once again, Corky and Lorraine served their famous Friday fish fries, homemade chili and hamburgers until 1997.
While living in Suring, Corky drove school bus. He also served on the Suring School Board’s building committee when the district decided to build an addition of classrooms and a gymnasium. He also was instrumental in the decision to purchase the land where the football field and track are today.
Corky served on the Oconto County Commission on Aging and on the low income housing project for the village.
In the early 1970s, he was the speaker on behalf of Herb Melchoir to get water, sewer, and curb and gutter in the village.
The entire time he was in the tavern business, Corky served as president of the Oconto County Tavern League. He also served on the state board of tavern leagues.
Along with Melvin Zahn, the Flynns started a summer baseball league for the children in the village.
Corky volunteered with the Suring Fire Department and helped Wilbur Bengtson with ambulance calls.
Along with Charlie Deede, Norb Brazeau, Jerry Gehling and Jim Flynn, they started the Railriders Snowmobile Club. They helped get a groomer for the trails north of Suring.
In much earlier years of the Suring Labor Day Celebration, Corky and Lorraine sponsored many marching bands and drum and bugle corps for the parade.
Lorraine was born in Belvidere, Illinois, on Sept. 11, 1927. Her family moved to Mountain in 1941 where her father, Dudley Dean Whitney, purchased a farm north of Mountain, which today is the Bowman gravel pit.
Lorraine’s elementary school days where in a one-room school house in Belvidere. She and her brother, Charles Whitney, attended Mountain High School. Lorraine graduated from Mountain with the Class of 1945.
Moving back to Belvidere, she worked for two years at Midwest Bottling Company making wax covers for milk bottles. After finding city life unappealing, she moved back to Mountain. It was here that she found the love of her life, Corky.
In the early years of their marriage, Lorraine was the caretaker of her mother, who lived with them. Lorraine maintained the household and cared for the children. She also prepared chili, hamburgers and Friday night fish fries and did her share of bartending.
You could always hear her at sporting events when her son, Dean, was playing.
In their next 65 years together, Corky and Lorraine had four children: Carol Andrews, of Suring, Dean (Kris) Flynn, of Green Bay, Marie Blazer, of Gillett, and Sharon (Mike) Jansen, of Suring. They have seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Both Corky and Lorraine have been members of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Suring. They have served on various committees in the church.
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