Geoffrey S. CORNISH

Geoffrey S. Cornish
Geoffrey Cornish of Amherst, Massachusetts, formerly of West Vancouver, British Columbia, passed away peacefully on February 10 at the age of 97.Geoffrey St John Cornish was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on August 6, 1914, the third and youngest child of Clifford Cornish, a school principal at Farady School in Winnipeg and Mary Shortal, a nurse.He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Soil Science from the University of British Columbia and his Master's degree in Agronomy from the University of Massachusetts.From 1935 to 1940, Geoffrey worked with famed Canadian golf course architect Stanley Thompson as construction foreman, superintendent and apprentice architect. In 1940, he was employed as head greens keeper at the St Charles Country Club in Winnipeg. From 1940 to 1945, he served in Europe with the Canadian Army, attaining the rank of Major. In 1946, he rejoined Thompson and subsequently was associated with Lawrence Dickinson at the University of Massachusetts. In 1952, he began practice as a course architect. Since then, he and his associates have designed over 200 courses. These include The Summerlea Golf Course in Montreal, The New Ashburn Golf Course in Halifax and York Downs in Toronto. He authored and co- authored books on course architects and architecture, including The Golf Course, and, The Architects of Golf with Ronald Whitten. A past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, he was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1996. Geoffrey was the recipient of many awards including the GCSAA Distinguished Service Award in 1981.In 1951, Geoffrey married Carol Burr Gawthrop in Amherst, Massachusetts, where they lived and worked together for many happy years. Assisting him with the management of his business, Carol was his right arm. Geoffrey was predeceased by his beloved Carol in March of 2003. He was also predeceased by his sister, Peggy Gillison, of West Vancouver, his brother, Jim Cornish, of Montreal, and his nephew, Bruce Cornish, of Toronto. He leaves his nephew, Brian Cornish, Brian's wife, Lynda, and their son Christopher, all of Beaconsfield, Quebec, as well as their daughter, Lindsay, and her husband, Michael Trainor, of Toronto. He also leaves his dear friend and assistant, Lori Hoffman, of Hardwick, Massachusetts. Geoffrey was respected and admired for his kindness, generosity and intelligence and will be sorely missed. According to Geoffrey's wishes, no formal funeral service is planned. Donations may be made in his memory to a charity or association of your choice. Condolences may be sent to douglassfuneral.com