G. Corson Ellis Jr. of New York city and Chilmark, died peacefully on Sept. 16 in New York from complications of cancer. He was 92.

His wife spent summers on the Vineyard since her teenaged years. Corson followed her and became a seasonal resident of Chilmark after their marriage in 1989. His stepdaughters Ellen and Hilary Jewett and their families have homes in Chilmark and Aquinnah, respectively.

On the Vineyard, he kept busy repairing and tinkering at his house, was active on the courts of the Chilmark Community Center or at Airport Fitness, enjoyed friends, relaxed on his deck and dined on the rich produce from Vineyard waters, especially its shellfish. A midwesterner accustomed to lake swimming, he enjoyed the coastline and salty surf from a respectful distance.

Corson was born in Chicago on March 13, 1929 to George Corson Ellis and Roberta Thorne Ellis. After spending his childhood in Lake Forest, he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy. At Yale College, which he graduated from in 1951, he ran the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds, a leading time in the 1950s.

He was an innovator who insisted on working for himself. He started out in business by buying a machine shop in Highlands, N.J. and he built Kessler Ellis Products into a multi-faceted manufacturer of electro-mechanic counters, electronics and, finally, software.

With partners in Germany and Japan, he subsequently founded two more companies. One of them pioneered the network interface device seen on the outside of virtually every American house today. As an executive, Corson was known for his quiet leadership, calm under pressure and for employing a high percentage of women from the start.

He loved skiing en famille, diving reefs worldwide, fly fishing with his pals, reading voraciously, studying French, speaking German and traveling adventurously. His was an upbeat life, informed by curiosity, generosity and love.

He is survived by his wife Constance; a former wife; three children; two stepdaughters; 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.