Les Cornwell

Les Cornwell, age 78, of Hordville, died Saturday morning, March 13, 2004, at his home.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 A.M., Wednesday, March 17th at the United Methodist Church in Aurora. Pastor Mel Loge will officiate. Interment will be in the Aurora Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 P.M. Tuesday at Higby-McQuiston Mortuary. Condolences may be e-mailed to the family through the mortuary website at higbymortuary.com.

OBITUARY: LES CORNWELL

Leslie Cecil Cornwell, the son of William Cecil and Blanche Mildred (Green) Cornwell, was born in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska on June 5, 1925 and died near Hordville, Nebraska on March 13, 2004, at the age of 78.

He graduated from Belgrade High School in 1943. After graduation, Les worked for farmers in the Belgrade area. He served in the Army during World War II.

Les was united in marriage to Muriel Jeanette Primrose on September 30, 1950. They farmed in the Belgrade area until 1957, when they moved to Aurora. Muriel passed away September 2, 1977.

Upon returning from the service, Les boarded a train at Grand Island, Nebraska and headed west to Sterling, Colorado to attend the Jim Hoover School of Auctioneering and Radio Broadcast. After returning from Colorado, he and Al Cunningham established the Cedar Rapids Sale Pavilion at Cedar Rapids, Nebraska. He co-owned and operated the salebarn until the fall of 1957 when fire destroyed it. He also farmed for those ten years in Belgrade.

In 1957 he, Muriel, Ann, and Bill moved to Aurora, Nebraska to join Clyde Carnes at the Aurora Sales Pavilion. From that time on, he conducted numerous auctions throughout Hamilton and adjoining counties. He cried livestock sales at various times in Grand Island, Ravenna, and Wahoo. Later, his brother Bill joined him in the auction business and in 1979, his son Tom started working auctions with him. He held a Real Estate license in conjunction with the Auction business. Over the years, Les raised livestock, sold feed, fertilizer, and seed corn. In addition to his brother Bill and Tom, his son Bill and nephew Doug also followed in his footsteps as auctioneers. His son Kent was also active in the auction business as a ringman.

Les and Erma Church were married on September 23, 2002 in Grand Island, Nebraska after enjoying each other's company for many years.

Over the years, Les had been a member of both the National and Nebraska Auctioneers Associations. In recent years, he had been retired, enjoyed his livestock, gardening, and studying various governmental and common law issues.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Muriel, brother Jim, and brother-in-law Larry Wegner.

Those left to cherish his memory are his four children, Ann (Ken) Colburn of Giltner, Bill Cornwell of Grand Island, Tom (Liz) Cornwell of Aurora, Kent (Patty) Cornwell of Marquette, 6 grandchildren, Kara and Brett Colburn, Casey, Brock, Stacie, and Levi Cornwell, and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his brothers William (Connie) of Albion and Jasper (Pat) of Belgrade; his sisters, Dorothy (Bill) Channer of Cedar Rapids, Mary (Vernon) Channer of St. Edward, and Edith (Elmer) Knutson of North Platte; and two sisters-in-law, Kay Cornwell of Belgrade and Karen Wegner of Grand Island.