Annette Cornell

Annette Cornell, 97, passed away November 16, 2021 at her home in Lexington. Mrs. Cornell was born May 8, 1924 in Owensboro, KY to the late John Graham Smith and Helen Wilson Smith. She was preceded in death by her husband, Troy Leslie Cornell.

She was a 1942 graduate of Daviess County High School and married Troy Cornell three days after her 18th birthday, just months before he served in the Navy Seabees Construction Battalion in the Pacific until the end of the war. During the war, Mrs. Cornell worked at Ken-Rad and then at Arnold Jewelers.

After the war, Troy and Annette built their home in Masonville. They were charter members of Masonville Baptist Church where she served faithfully until she moved to Lexington in 2015. The 70 years she lived in Masonville, Mrs. Cornell baked pies and delivered home-cooked meals to shut-ins. When needed, she was happy to work beside her husband, baking pies at Cornell’s Restaurant. People who travelled U.S. 231 called her home “The Lighthouse of Masonville” because of the brightly-lit Aladdin lamps that shone in all of the windows. Christmas did not officially begin in Masonville until Annette hung the little red lights and red cellophane wreaths in every window every year until she moved to Lexington, when the house on U.S. 231 went dark.

Mrs. Cornell is survived by her two sons, Larry Dale Cornell (Sandy) of Lexington, KY; John William Cornell (Helen) Delray Beach, FL; her daughter Charlotte Cornell Postlewaite, Lexington; her dear little sister Beverly Kirk, Habit, KY; and her surrogate sons Gary Postlewaite, Owensboro, and Greg Norris, Masonville. She is survived by five of her six grandchildren, Miana Jane Cornell (Timothy Roger Gago) of Lexington; John Kyle (Jaleena) Postlewaite, Nashville, TN; William Cole Cornell, Brooklyn, NY; John Leslie “Jack” (Lauren) Cornell, Quincy, IL; and Patrick O’Bryan Cornell (Erin Boniface), Portland, OR. She was preceded in death by her oldest grandson, Kerry Graham Postlewaite. She is also survived by seven great-grandchildren, Forrest Roger and Cecelia Jane Gago, Lexington; Dash Miller and Brik Graham Postlewaite, Louisville, KY; Ezra Victor Postlewaite, Nashville, TN; Betty Ruth Boniface Cornell, Portland, OR; and Troy Eldon Cornell, Quincy, IL as well as several beloved nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be from 1:00-2:00 p.m. on Monday at James H. Davis Funeral Home & Crematory. Services will be held 2:00 p.m. Monday, November 22, 2021 at James H. Davis Funeral Home & Crematory. Livestream of the service will be available to view at www.davisfuneralhome.com. Private burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery. Masks are required by the public.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Masonville Baptist Church or NAMI of Owensboro. Also, Mrs. Cornell would probably tell you to just bake a pie and give it to someone near you who needs to know he or she is cared for and loved.