BRUNSWICK — Edward G. Corbett, 83, of Brunswick, died Aug. 21, at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough after a short illness.

He was born in Cristobal, Panama, on June 24, 1930, the son of Arthur and Dorothy Corbett. He graduated from Cristobal High School, and served in both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy, where he was designated a Golden Shellback. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Maine at Orono and was awarded a doctorate from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H.

Early in his career, Corbett was a plant explorer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and he traveled with other scientists to collect plant specimens in the Himalayas and on the Korean peninsula.

Corbett went on to teach in the plant science department at the University of Connecticut for 30 years. He was active in professional societies including the Connecticut Nurseryman’s Association, the Governor’s Shade Tree Examining Board, the Connecticut Horticultural Society and the National Seed Bank.

Upon his retirement and return to Maine, Corbett taught classes at the University of Maine System Senior College in Bath, Lewiston and Portland. He was also an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brunswick.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Geraldine Corbett, of Brunswick; his daughter Susan Boisvert and her husband Peter, of Brunswick; his daughter Linda Spalding and her husband Gerry, of Scarborough; his son Edward Corbett Jr. and his wife Debra, of Rockford, Ill.; sister Ruth Jenkins and her husband Duane; brother James Corbett and his wife Suzanne; four granddaughters, five grandsons, beloved brother and sister-in-law Donald and Emily Cook, and many nieces and nephews.

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A celebration of Corbett’s life was scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 27 Pleasant St., Brunswick. Interment will occur during a private family ceremony at St. Paul’s Memorial Garden.

Those wishing to make a memorial donation in honor of Corbett are asked to consider St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 27 Pleasant St., Brunswick, ME 04011, or Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St. Brunswick, ME 04011.

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