Daniel Cory, insurance salesman and businessman, dies at 91

Feb. 11--Daniel Cory was a pioneer in the insurance industry, forming two separate property and casualty agencies in Chicago and its suburbs.

"He was primarily known for being very innovative and creative with respect to putting together a lot of different niche programs," said his son Andy, who now runs the second of those two businesses, Cory & Associates.

"And he always said, 'I'm a salesman at heart, and the thing about the insurance business is that you're not selling widgets; you're going to each individual (customer) business and learning that business, which is fun. You develop personal relationships.'"

Cory, 91, died of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on Dec. 29 at his Naperville home, his son said. He had lived in Naperville for the past three years and previously had lived in Oak Brook. He also spent time at his home in Naples, Fla.

Born Daniel Lyell Cory in Chicago, he was the son of Victor and Bernice Cory, who co-founded Christian publisher Scripture Press in 1932. The company was based in Chicago until the firm relocated to Wheaton in 1956, then to Colorado in 1996.

Cory grew up on Chicago's North Side before moving with his family to Wheaton in 1941.

During the 1940s, Cory's arts and crafts-style family home, on North Washington Street directly across from Wheaton College, was known as the "Flop House," because so many wayward travelers and Christian missionaries would visit.

"They used to joke about the fact that they didn't know who was sleeping on the couch," Andy Cory said.

As a teen, Cory was a skilled table tennis player. In March 1943, he won the boys' title in the 12th annual Illinois state table tennis tournament at the North Town Table Tennis Club in Chicago.

After graduating from Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, Cory earned a bachelor's degree in 1950 from Wheaton College, where he studied economics and played football, his son said.

After college, Cory worked in sales for Liberty Mutual Insurance and then for an independent insurance agency.

Cory teamed up with Theodore J. "Ted" Adams in 1967, to form Cory & Adams Inc., based in Chicago. The firm, which moved to Oak Brook in 1971, handled commercial property and casualty insurance for middle-market businesses.

Cory and Adams parted ways in 1981 and Cory formed his own firm, Cory & Associates.

"He was innovative and convinced insurance firms to write new products," said Alice Cory, his wife of almost 28 years. "And he had strong integrity -- he had quite a reputation in that regard, and that was something he was very proud of."

Karen Nolan, whom Cory hired in 1987 as a salesman of commercial lines of insurance, called Cory a generous, professional leader with a terrific sense of humor.

"He was just a very pleasant, happy person," Nolan said. "And he was an excellent, respectful listeners, both with his employees and with clients."

Cory retired from Cory & Associates in 1995 and sold his firm to his son.

Outside of work, Cory enjoyed golfing and had been a member of the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton since 1969.

A first marriage ended in divorce, and Cory was widowed after a brief second marriage. In addition to his wife and son, Cory is survived by two daughters, Michala Miller and Caroline Jensen; another son, Duncan; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a brother, Philip.

Services were held.

Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

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