John Duane Corbett (Duane) died peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones on December 28, 2024. Duane was born May 23, 1949, in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Irvin and Dorothy (Hall) Corbett. Duane grew up in the small town of Harrisville, Ohio, and enjoyed many childhood jobs. He worked for a small flower company down the road from his home, which began a lifelong love of flowers, worked construction for his uncle's construction business, and painted at his father's Carson Petroleum filling stations. As a child, Duane developed a lifelong love of music from his mother.

He was a 1967 graduate of Adena High School (Adena, Ohio) and a 1971 graduate of Muskingum College (New Concord, Ohio), with a Bachelor of Music Education. At Muskingum, he was a member of the Ulster Club.
After college, Duane became the head band director at Teays Valley High School (Ashville, Ohio) from 1974-1985. During this time, he took bands to several competitions, some of which were played in Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio). His band also had the privilege of playing at an Ohio State men's basketball game, with the band sitting right behind one of the baskets in St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio). Duane remembered this as a really great experience. On two occasions, his band was invited to Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio) and played for a Cincinnati Reds baseball game and a Cincinnati Bengals football game. They also performed at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Additionally, during this season of Duane's life, he often played his trumpet and accompanied the musical worship at Circleville Presbyterian Church (Circleville, Ohio).

After teaching, Duane became a Foreign Expert Trainer for ZTE Corporation in Shenzhen, China, where he worked from 2007-2012. He was an academy lecturer and responsible for the corporation's global corporate employee training program.

Duane's hobbies included being a lifelong Ohio State fan, fishing, being outdoors, and spending time with his family.

He is preceded in death by his parents Irvin and Dorothy Corbett, brother Rev. Dr. Lawrence Corbett, and niece Courtney Corbett Zink. He is survived by his wife Zhu Xiaoling, children Kara Landefeld (J. Michael), Jonathan Corbett (Julie), and Zhu Yi, sister Marcie Smith (Richard), sister-in-law Meredyth Corbett, grandchildren Jacob and Elizabeth Landefeld, and Grace, Hope, and Ruth Corbett, nieces Erin Randolph (Brian) and Julie Atkins, nephews Matthew Corbett and Greg Smith (Melissa), as well as several great nieces and nephews.