Former state Sen. J. Doyle Corman has died at age 87, family says

Former state Sen. J. Doyle Corman Jr. died Sunday morning, his son, Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Benner Township, announced.

Bellefonte resident Doyle Corman, 87, was the 34th District state senator from 1977 to 1998.

He died at home surrounded by his family, state Sen. Jake Corman said in a statement.

“Dad always remained grateful for the privilege to serve the people of Central Pennsylvania as their state Senator for more than 20 years,” he said. “He was a man of deep conviction whose devotion to making our community a better place guided his life and career.”

Doyle Corman first ran for Centre County commissioner in 1967 and served on that board for a decade. He was elected to the state Senate in a special election in May 1977 and re-elected the following year. While in the Senate, he served on the transportation committee for 13 years.

During his time in the state senate, he was hailed as a champion for local government and praised as a citizens’ advocate. His accomplishments include primary sponsorship of bill to provide increased liability protection to landowners who allow free public recreation use of their land and waters, helping to pass a measure increasing speed limit on some highways to 65 mph and work to reform the state welfare system and lower business taxes, according to the CDT archives.

“Sen. Doyle Corman was devoted to his family and dedicated to his state,” former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett said in a statement. “He served the citizens of Centre County with distinction and integrity. Sen. Corman was a true gentleman and it was a privilege to know him. He will be sorely missed.”

In a statement, former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge called Doyle Corman a “wonderful partner” to his administration in the mid-‘90s.

“He showed particular leadership in helping to advance critical transportation legislation that is a hallmark of his distinguished legislative career,” he said.

Ridge also called Doyle Corman a “proud family man who always put his family first.”

He and his wife, Becky, had five children.

“Dad was a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather first and a Senator second,” state Sen. Jake Corman said in the statement. “There are no other titles in which he took greater pride. While in the coming days, many will remember him for his service to this Commonwealth, Dad’s lasting legacy is the example by which he lived, his expectations of us and the love he had for Mom and all of us.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 11:47 AM.