Danny Corbett didn’t live to see the completion of his six to seven years’ work of collecting, testing and enjoying hundreds of recipes: "The Ultimate Cookbook—Volume 1 & Volume 2." But his sister, Janie Corbett, with the help of family, made sure the legacy Danny had created would go on forever in print.

Danny was a native of Mathews County, the son of Erva Lee Sutton Corbett and J.W. Corbett. Many of his relatives still live in Mathews, Gloucester and Middlesex. He attended Mathews High School but graduated from Staunton Military School with a number of academic and athletic honors. He received a degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1970, a year later received a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering, and by 1972 he had another master’s in information and computer science.

Danny’s professional career began in Detroit, Mich., as a manager of Materials Systems. Then he returned to Atlanta ...