For this four-generation family, Corning runs deep
Doris Hurlburt and Whitney Deitzler celebrate 175 years of family ties.
Doris Hurlburt, IT Manager, Manufacturing Execution Systems DevOps, and Whitney Deitzler, IBN/DC Customer Operations Supervisor and Manufacturing Engagement Lead, reflect on their family values in Corning’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office.
Doris Hurlburt has a personal chauffeur who drives her to Corning’s office in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s her daughter.
That’s their joke, at least.
Every commute to work begins with a walk next door, where Doris’ daughter, Whitney Deitzler, lives with her husband and two children. They live so close that, on any given day, Doris can wave from her porch to her grandchildren playing.
The carpooling just makes sense for Doris, a 30-year Corning employee, and Whitney, who just finished her first year as a customer operations specialist.
Their service is just the latest chapter in a family legacy that's woven into the fabric of Corning’s 175-year history.
In 2026, the company celebrates nearly two centuries of materials science innovation – from the glass that encased Edison’s lightbulb to the labware that helped develop the polio vaccine to the tough Gorilla Glass featured on 8 billion devices worldwide. Corning’s success is driven by its people. Doris and Whitney play a part in the story.
From left: Doris’ mother, R. Rosetta Scott; her aunt Janet Contento, who also worked for Corning; Whitney and Doris.
A family tradition
“My aunt, my uncle, my grandma, even my great grandma: they all worked at Corning,” Whitney says. “From my earliest days, I remember Corning being a lifeline to our whole community. If you wanted to build a better life, you commuted to Corning.”
Their story starts in Elkland, Pennsylvania, a small rural town on the New York border.
“Corning was opportunity,” Doris says. Her mother, R. Rosetta Scott, worked at Corning. And so did her grandmother, Esther Johnson. She remembers their stories growing up.
She heard about her mother’s coworkers at the Erwin, New York, factory, which still makes car parts for emissions control to this day. She remembers her talking about painting and maintenance, and the teamwork that went into it. She heard from her grandmother about the art glass made at the Steuben Glass Co. plant in Corning, New York.
Doris’ past was interwoven with this company, and her future was about to be as well.
Doris’ grandmother, Esther Johnson, and mother, R. Rosetta Scott, passed down their family values.
Naps under the desk
Doris’s own journey began in 1994, initially as a temp worker in Corning’s fiber division.
“My sister, Robin, worked here at the time and encouraged me to apply,” she recalls.
It wasn’t easy breaking in. The company was coming out of a restructuring, and permanent positions were scarce.
“But after a year and a half of temp work, my supervisor jumped through hoops to hire me permanently,” Doris says.
For Doris, then a young mother, Corning’s work-life flexibility was a game-changer.
“They always valued the individual – and family,” Doris says, referencing one of the seven corporate values Corning employees hold dear. “When Whitney had a dentist appointment, I’d just bring her to the office. She’d curl up under my desk for a nap. My co-workers were always welcoming. It was that kind of place.”
“I grew up taking naps under mom’s desk at Corning,” Whitney confirms, laughing. “I’ll never forget that.”
Doris visited Whitney at school to give a presentation on Corning during their Career Day.
“It felt like coming home.”
From temp assignments to becoming the go-to subject matter expert for system support in fiber, Doris thrived on challenge and change. Her growing expertise drew her into IT, where she now implements manufacturing execution systems across multiple sites.
“I love that Corning encourages you to grow,” Doris says. “If you want to try something new, they’ll support you. The technology is incredible, but it’s the people who keep you coming back.”
Whitney’s own path took a detour – a decade teaching third grade – before returning to the family company.
“Teaching was my passion, but after having my own kids, it got harder – financially, timewise, it just wasn’t sustainable,” she admits.
That’s when Doris gave her daughter a not-so-gentle nudge.
“I put in a referral for her. She got the email and was like, ‘Where did this come from?’” Doris says.
Whitney was soon hired.
“It felt like coming home,” she says. “Corning values the individual. My supervisor gets it. He’s got a family, too. It wasn’t a hard adjustment, even with the learning curve.”
Whitney and Doris cherish the value of “The Individual."
Passing the torch — and the values
Now, Whitney is paying it forward.
“I don’t just see customers as business; they’re people,” she says.
It’s a philosophy that echoes the lessons passed down through generations — not only how to do the job, but how to care. “Integrity” is another corporate value.
Doris’ family is certainly not the only multi-generational Corning family. There are many. Amory Houghton Sr., who founded Corning in 1851, passed his own life lessons to the family members that followed – right down to James Houghton, who passed the leadership baton to current CEO and chairman Wendell Weeks in 2005. The Houghton’s were deeply entrenched in the Corning, New York, community, and advocated for its people and their families.
“Our role in the company is to grow the next generation,” Doris says. “Some people hold onto what they know. I’d rather share it, so this company — our company — lasts another 175 years.”
As Corning celebrates its 175th anniversary, Doris herself marks 30 years with the company. Her wish for the future? That the family torch keeps passing. And that new generations seize the kind of chances Corning has given her family.
“I’d encourage my kids to carry it on,” Whitney says, with a grin. “But, honestly, I know they’ll follow their own paths. Just like I did. I guess that’s the Corning way, too.”