Harold M. Cornell Jr.

LEICESTER - Harold M. "Harry" Cornell Jr., of Leicester, Vt., died on Friday, July 31, 2009. He was 72. Harry was born in New York City to Martha (Bruning) Cornell and Harold Miller Cornell of New Rochelle, N.Y., on August 22, 1936. He attended New Rochelle Public Schools and excelled in both the classroom and on the basketball court where he was captain of the team.

Harry earned a scholarship to the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., and was co-captain of the basketball team. After graduating in 1958, he earned a M.B.A. from Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y.

Harry married Janet Morgan in 1963 and they raised five children. He worked as a corporate controller for much of his career. After retiring early, he began teaching accounting, investing and finance at the Community College of Vermont and, for the past 16 years, in the graduate program at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y.

Harry was generous with his time and served each community in which he lived. He served on the school board in Valhalla, N.Y., during the '70s and '80s. He volunteered with the United Way of Addison County, served on the Porter Hospital Auxiliary Board, delivered Meals on Wheels for more than seven years, and was active in the Middlebury United Methodist Church. He enjoyed golf, played often, and among his many accomplishments, had four holes-in-one.

In addition to his wife, Harry is survived by his children, their spouses and his grandchildren: Christopher and Connie Cornell and their children Jordan, Thomas and Katie of Hopewell Junction, N.Y.; Linda C. and Gerry Hatcher and their children Brian, Nick and Will of Danbury, Conn.; Nancy C. and Erin Sommerfeld and their children Jack and Julia of Brookfield, Conn.; Timothy Cornell of Burlington, Vt.; and Jon Cornell of Tarrytown, N.Y. He is also survived by his sister, Susan Cornell Jones and her family of Pleasantville, N.Y. He was predeceased by a brother, Charles H. Cornell, and a sister, Laura Cornell.

There will be a memorial service at Middlebury United Methodist Church on Thursday, August 6, at four o'clock in the afternoon. Immediately following the service, there will be a reception at the Middlebury Inn at which time visitors can share their remembrances of Harry with his family. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Addison County Home Health and Hospice or the Middlebury United Methodist Church Mission Fund would be appreciated.

View the guest book at www.rutlandherald.com/ obits.