Harry Kenneth Cornelius (1935-2013)
Harry Kenneth Cornelius, Class of 1953, Ray City High School, Ray City, GA
Harry Kenneth Cornelius was born at home in Ray City, GA on March 22, 1935. His father, Shellie Wade Cornelius, was a farmer from Dupont, GA. His mother, Pearl Williams, was from Ray City. It appears his parents were married about 1922 and owned a home in Lanier County, 586th Georgia Militia District, on the Sirmans and Lakeland Road. The census of 1930 shows his parents at this location. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father farmed on his own account, along with his grandfather and uncle.
Sometime in the early 1930s his parents went to Ray City, GA where Harry was born. By 1935, the family was living at New River, Berrien County, GA. The 1940 census shows by that time they had rented a home near New River, GA on the Nashville Tifton Road, where his father continued to work a farm on his own account.
Sometime after 1940, the family came back to Ray City, where their home was on Possum Creek Road just west of town. Harry, his sister Frankie Cornelius, brothers Junior Cornelius, Shellie Cornelius, Jr., Robert Cornelius, and their siblings attended the Ray City School.
Harry Cornelius, 1951 Ray City High School sophomore class photo.
Harry’s brother Junior Cornelius played for the Ray City Boy’s Basketball team. His mother, Pearl Williams Cornelius was a teacher at the school and his father, Shellie Wade Cornelius, was a bus driver.
† † †
Obituary of Harry Kenneth Cornelius
Harry Kenneth Cornelius, 77 of Nashville, Ga, passed away Monday morning, March 18, 2013, in the Langdale Hospice House in Valdosta, Ga. He was born in Ray City, Ga. at home, March 22, 1935, to the late Shellie W. Sr. and Pearl Williams Cornelius. He was employed as a marketing sales manager with Unisys in Tampa, Fla. Following his retirement, he moved back to the Berrien County, Ga. area-the home of his birth that he loved all his life. He enjoyed golfing and running as often as he could, and working on the family farm with his brother Junior Cornelius. He also served faithfully in the United States Army for two years, and was a member of the Ray City United Methodist Church. Along with his parents he was also preceded in death by a brother Robert Cornelius. Survivors Include his wife, Joanna Cornelius of Nashville, Ga.; son and daughter-in-law, Ken and Carol A. Cornelius, New Port Richie, Fla.; daughter and son-in-law, Karla and Ted Hale, Bradenton, Fla.; granddaughter, Amanda Legorete, New Port Richie, Fla.; granddaughter, Wendy Legorete, New Port Richie, Fla.; granddaughter, Kasey Hale, Bradenton, Fla.; grandson, Sean Hale, Bradenton, Fla.; brother, Shellie W. Cornelius Jr., Nashville, Ga.; sister and brother-in-law, Frances and Herman Carner, Tampa, Fla.. Funeral services will be held Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 11 a.m. in the Ray City United Methodist Church with burial to follow in Beaver Dam Cemetery in Ray City, Ga. The family will receive friends at the funeral home between 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, 2013 in the Lakeland Funeral Home. Sympathy may be expressed online at http://www.musicfuneralservices.com . Mr. Cornelius will be placed in the Church one hour prior to services on Thursday. – Music Funeral Services of Lakeland, Ga.
Grave of Harry Kenneth Cornelius, Beaver Dam Cemetery Ray City, GA. Image source: Ed Hightower
Related Posts:
- Frances Cornelius
- 1951 Beaverettes Couldn’t Miss; Boys Went Afoul at Homerville
- Jack Knight, Valdosta State Slugger
- Nashville High School, Class of 1949
- New Lois School Reunion, 1997
Ray City History Blog 