Madelyn Frances Kerr was born Jul 9, 1914 in the Kerr home southeast of Manilla, Iowa in Shelby County. She died on Jun 16, 1994 in Chatsworth, Los Angeles County, California three weeks short of her 80th birthday.
She married William Glen Cornwell on Nov 29, 1936 in Bethany, Harrison County, in northern Missouri. He was born Oct 18, 1915 in Walthill, Thurston County, Nebraska and died Nov 5, 1968 at the age of 53. He was the son of William Ulysses Cornwell and Alta Emily Chambers.
The following is taken from her handwritten account of her life:
". . . In 1918 the family moved to a farm near Octonto, Wisconsin, where Madelyn attended a small nearby rural school for three years and a grade school in Oconto for one year. The seventh grade was attended in 1924-5 in Iron Mountain, Mich, Manilla, Iowa, and Oconto Wis. as the family spent part of that year in Michigan, returning then to Oconto. In 1929 the family returned to the farm in Iowa, where Madelyn graduated from high school in 1930 (at age 15), and completed the normal training course the following year (to qualify to teach).
"The year 1931-2 and 1932-3 were spent at Iowa State College (Ames), the Industrial Science Division. Then with the Depression to contend with Madelyn took a Civil Service job with the Agricultural Corn-Hog program in Shelby County Iowa, remaining until Jul 31, 1934. Two more years at Iowa State College, and a B. S. Degree, major in Mathematics, in June 1936.
"After a few weeks with an Insurance Company in Des Moines, she secured a secretarial position at Iowa State College.
". . . a list of the places where the family has lived: - Ames, Ia, Pender, Nebr; Wash. D. C., Biloxi, Miss, Amarillo Tx & Pender - finally coming to me in Calif."
Madelyn went back to work in Pender to help put her children through college. She was employed as a social case worker with the state welfare office, with her clientel being the Indians of the Omaha and Winnebago Indian reservations. She always took a personal interest in their welfare, and, for the most part, the Indians enjoyed knowing her as a friend.
After Glen died, she sold the home in Pender at 624 Logan Street, and moved to Chatsworth, California, where she lived independently until after the January, 1994 earthquake. She then moved to an assisted care facility for the last five months of her life.
Madelyn was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the First Presbyterian Church in Pender. She later transferred her church membership to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
She enjoyed travel, reading, and keeping up with family activities. She once remarked that the highlight of her life was flying to Guam in 1986 to visit with Larry and his family, where Larry was stationed with the U. S. Air Force.
She suffered severe rheumatoid arthritis all her adult life, and bore the pain stoically. In her last months, she had developed macular degeneration, which limited her reading. Her last hour was spent with her son, Tom, who had come to have dinner with her. He said that he would see her tomorrow, and she replied, "Well, maybe not." Tom left, she got up to go to the information desk, and collapsed and died within 10 minutes. Her cause of death listed on her death certificate was cardiopulmonary arrest, due to cardiac arrhythmia due to coronary artery disease due to hypertension.
Her remains were cremated and scattered at sea three miles off Newport Beach Coastline in Orange County, California. Her son Tom arranged for her marker to be placed next to Glen's grave at Rose Hill Cemetery, one mile southwest of Pender, Nebraska.
