Gregory Scott Cornwell

Gregory married Nancy Lee. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Knoxville News Sentinel, August 8, 1992

Knox native who ran state park after his military career dies.

William "Bill" Cornwell, native Knoxvillian and superintendent of the Tims Ford State Park at Tullahoma, died Thursday at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville of an apparent heart attack. He was 63 and a retired Army lieutenant colonel.
Mr Cornwell graduated from Knoxville High School in 1947. He was quarterback of the school's football team.
He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in labor relations in 1952 and entered the Army.
Mr. Cornwell served in both the Korean and Vietnam wars and was awarded several medals for bravery, including the Legion of Merit for helicopter rescue misions in Vietman.
He also served as an aide with the Chinese Nationalist Army in Formosa and was in charge of establishing helicopter forces for the Shah of Iran.
Mr. Cornwell retired from the Army in 1973 and took a job with the Tennessee Department of Conservation as the superintendent of Pickwick State Park. He was later chosen to develop and oversee the state park.
Mr. Cornwell is survived by his wife, Jane Riddel of Tullahoma; mother, Blana Ruth Cornwell of Knoxville; sister Laverne Rubenstein of Orlando; sons, Gregory Scott Cornwell of Chicago and Lawrence Dean Cornwell of Murfreesboro; daughters, Sarah Gene Cornwell of Winchester, Mass., and Martha Ellen Cornwell of Tullahoma; and four grandchildren.

William married Jane Riddell Iott [Group Sheet]

William married Blannie Ruth Demarcus on 02 Jun 1927 in Knoxville, Knox Co., Tennessee. Blannie (daughter of Goldman Amos Demarcus and Etta Lucinda Evans) was born on 10 Jan 1908 in Westborn, Tennessee; died on 04 Jan 1995 in Knoxville, Knox Co., Tennessee; was buried on 06 Jan 1995 in Lynnhurst Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox Co., Tennessee. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Blannie Ruth Cornwell

Goldman married Etta Lucinda Evans on 12 Sep 1895 in Union Co., Tennessee. Etta (daughter of Solomon Peter Evans and Margaret Ann Underwood) was born on 03 Aug 1876 in Mascot, Knox Co., Tennessee; died on 19 Feb 1965 in Somerset, Pulaski Co., Kentucky; was buried in Lynnhurst Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox Co., Tennessee. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• Name: Etta Lucinda Demarcus

Notes:

Anecdote:


According to her daughter, Blannie, Etta was interviewed by Lowell Blanchard who was a local radio personality on a show called the "Midday Merry Go Round". Etta was a strong Democrat. Lowell asked her what she would be if she wasn't a Democrat. She replied, "I'd be ashamed".

Her granddaughter, LaVerne remembers that Etta was a compassionate person. She could never say no to people in need. She had a large house Knoxville on Magnolia Avenue near the railroad tracks. Once a hobo stopped at her back door and asked for a hand-out. She gave him something to eat and drink . Word spread through out the railroad community of her hospitality. Soon, rail workers and rail passengers were stopping at her door when they were in the Knoxville area. There were so many people that she converted her large home into a boarding house and started renting rooms. LaVerne remembers the large breakfasts that were prepared for the boarders.