Author and Disney historian Jim Korkis has passed away at the age of 72 after a months-long battle with cancer.
According to a GoFundMe page created for Korkis, a fall in his home in February “led to a series of discoveries of serious medical concerns.” After the accident revealed the need for an open-heart surgery, during his recovery, it was learned that Korkis had stage 4 inoperable colon cancer that had spread to his liver.
On july 29th, the GoFundMe page was updated with the following message:
Friends, I am heartbroken to have to inform you that our friend Jim Korkis passed away this morning. He was unresponsive this morning at the rehab center and was transported to the hospital. His brother Mike was able to arrive a few minutes before Jim passed. While Jim could not respond, Mike said that Jim appeared to be able to hear him, and he was able to talk to Jim for those last few minutes.
Jim had been feeling good this week, and there really was no indication that things would take a turn for the worse. He did not appear to be in pain, and went quickly and quietly as he had wished.
There will be a memorial for Jim at a date and time to be determined. It will be held via Zoom so that those elsewhere in the US or overseas can attend. We'll publicize the details once it's set, but for now Mike needs to focus on taking care of the necessary details.
To those of you who contributed to this GoFundMe, THANK YOU! Your contributions and messages of support gave life and light to Jim over these last several weeks. He was astonished to see how many people loved him. The remaining balance will be used to help pay off his final medical bills.
As I get more information from Mike, I will share it. In the meantime, thank you all for your support.
Thanks,
Mark
Korkis was a beloved Disney historian who authored dozens of books focused on the history of Disney Parks and other aspects of the company, including titles like Final Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Conclusion of the First 50 Years and several volumes of The Vault of Walt. Many of his books can be found here. He can also be heard in several episodes of The Sweep Spot podcast right here on Laughingplace.com.
If you are interested, the GoFundMe page is still accepting donations. You can make your contribution here.