Barbara Newell Cornwell, affectionately nicknamed "Susan" or "Sue", died peacefully on May 28, 2012 at the age of 92. Sue was the daughter of Wendel R. and Mariquita K. McKenzie, born in Kernville, CA on November 11, 1919. Sue grew up in California and moved to Nevada. She attended Reno High School and graduated in 1937. She married Charles E. ("Ed") Cornwell in 1945 and is survived by their two children, Christopher W. Cornwell of Moneta (Smith Mountain Lake), VA and Wendi Cornwell Bucher of Austin, TX.
Sue was one of the first flight attendants for United Airlines in 1942. There she met "Ed" Cornwell, who at that time was in military flight training as a pilot for United Airlines, and who soon, thereafter, became a career Marine aviator. They married in La Jolla, CA and were transferred to Hawaii where their son Christopher was born late 1946. Ed’s military tours took them from Hawaii to El Toro, California, where daughter Wendi was born in 1949. Military tours continued to Camp Lejeune, NC; Tustin, California; and Alexandria, VA (1956), where Lt. Col. Charles E. Cornwell retired in 1962 from the military. Sue was a loving wife and the quintessential mother, raising their two children while working full-time for United Airlines reservations for most of her adult life. Sue spoke often of her close friends from her dedicated 25 years with United Airlines. Ed and Sue enjoyed outdoor activities with the family, such as water and snow skiing, sailing & camping. Sue inspired Ed and patiently supported his engineering genius that culminated in over 20 patents being granted to Ed after he retired from the military. They were an amazing team.
Sue and Ed Cornwell remained in Alexandria, VA until they moved to Springfield, VA at a retirement facility named "Green Spring Village". A few years after Ed’s death (Dec. 2003), Sue moved to Austin, TX (May 2006). In Austin, she was cared for by her daughter’s family and was able to enjoy the various ‘life events’ of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sue was the loving grandmother of Kimberly Barrett Foxhoven, Matthew Boone Bucher, Nicole Cornwell Ashby and the loving great-grandmother of Christopher Ashby, Jacob Andrew Foxhoven, Kyla Barrett Foxhoven and Slate Matthew Foxhoven. She was deeply loved by her son-in-law O. Boone Bucher, her daughter-in-law Carol P. Cornwell and her grandson’s wife, Currie Bucher. The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Sue’s caregivers, Endra P. Moore and Donna Felty, who so lovingly and faithfully cared for Sue over the past year. Sue’s immediate family remained at her bedside until the very end.
In early June, the Cornwell family is holding a small and private memorial celebration to commemorate Sue’s life. Barbara Cornwell’s interment will be with husband Charles E. Cornwell, at Arlington National Cemetery, at a date to be determined later. Feel free to donate to your favorite charity in her memory. For more information, call 512-327-7488.