Gene Corsale
Veteran, Community Leader, Civic Volunteer
Eugene “Gene” Corsale was born July 25, 1928, and was a lifelong resident of Saratoga Springs. He was a 1946 graduate of Saratoga Springs High School. Upon graduating Gene was employed by the Delaware & Hudson Railroad as a Locomotive Fireman and later Maintenance of Way Foreman on the Ballston Spa Railroad Relocation project and the Adirondack branch of the railroad at North Creek, NY.
When the Korean War broke out, Gene volunteered for the Navy, serving four years starting in 1950. He received numerous awards and medals. Gene married Barbara in 1961. The two had met at the Hidden Valley Ranch in Lake Luzerne, NY. Gene saw Barbara in the lounge and asked her to dance; the rest is history: Together they had two daughters and lived their entire lives together in Saratoga Springs.
After the war Gene worked for International Paper in Corinth, and then became a licensed real estate broker, owning his own business. This led to him being hired by the City of Saratoga Springs Assessment Department in 1975. In 1981 he took the position of Director of Real Property Tax Services for Saratoga County. His talents as a writer blossomed and he created an award-winning newsletter that received statewide praise.
Gene retired in 1995, only to become even more engaged in the community. He volunteered and was a member of countless nonprofit organizations and boards including the West Side Neighborhood Association, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, the Saratoga Springs Federal Credit Union, the New York State Military Heritage Institute and Saratoga Miss Softball. He was a charter member of the Italian American Veterans Post 35 and served as Vice Commander of Adirondack Chapter #60 Korean War Veterans of America and Chairman of the Tell-America Program.
Gene received many community awards: He was designated Director Emeritus by the Preservation Foundation and recognized for his work preserving the Gideon Putnam Cemetery; the Rotary Club designated him as “Senior Citizen of the Year” in 2003, and he was recognized as one of The Saratogian’s “20 Over 40” for making a difference in the community.
Working with the West Side Neighborhood Association, he coordinated the installation of the “Welcome to the City of Saratoga Springs” signs installed at Church and Washington streets. Initiating the concept and together with veterans groups, they were successful in designating and renaming the former Geyser Park fields as “Veterans Memorial Park.” In recognition of his advocacy for veterans’ causes and his service to the community, the New York State Military Heritage Institute designated him as the 2009 Veteran of the Year.
In 2009 he was also awarded the Marvin A. Davis Memorial Award by the Bridge Line Historical Society, “in grateful recognition of outstanding and dedicated service to the Society.” Along with Town of Saratoga Supervisor and former Town Historian Tom Wood, he was successful in obtaining a Canadian Pacific Railroad caboose for permanent display at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds. In 2011 he was honored by the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors as the first recipient of the Key to Saratoga County for his “advocacy and tireless efforts on behalf of veterans.”
Gene Corsale, who passed away in 2014, was a veteran who loved his family, loved his country, and loved his community.