Tom Corcoran obit

Olympian Skier Tom Corcoran Dies, Founded Waterville Valley

 

He was not on the list.

Tom Corcoran, an Olympic skier who founded the Waterville Valley ski resort in New Hampshire that became popular among racers and celebrities, has died. He was 85.

Former assistant Jan Stearns said Corcoran died Tuesday at his home in Seabrook Island, South Carolina, following a brief illness.

Born in Japan, Corcoran grew up in Canada but attended school in New Hampshire. After graduating from Dartmouth College, he competed in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics and won four U.S. alpine championships. He opened Waterville Valley Resort in the winter of 1966-67.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, whose family bought the resort in 2010, said Wednesday he grew up skiing with Corcoran's family and called Corcoran not just the ski resort's founder but its spirit.

Thomas Corcoran (November 16, 1931 – June 27, 2017), better known as Tom Corcoran, was a four-time United States national champion in alpine skiing and a two-time Olympian. In addition to seven years of international ski racing, Corcoran also raced competitively for Dartmouth College and would later earn an MBA from Harvard Business School.

After his alpine racing career, Corcoran opened the Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire. He served as an executive at the ski area until 1990.

Corcoran was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1978 and was presented with the first New England Ski Museum Spirit of Skiing award in 2006. He died at Seabrook Island, South Carolina on June 27, 2017, at the age of 85.