Faye McCullough Cornell

1921 - 2017

Faye McCullough Cornell

Redding, CA

1921 - 2017

Faye McCullough Cornell passed away on July 5, 2017 in Redding, CA at the age of 96. Faye's friends and family always will remember her as a gracious, loving woman with a great sense of humor. Her long life stands as a tribute to her love of family and dedication to excellence in everything she did.

Faye was born in Kennebec, South Dakota on February 12, 1921. She was the third child born to her parents in three years. Eight years later, twin sisters were born. Faye's father, Halle, was a superintendent of Indian reservations, and Faye lived on Indian reservations in Montana and North Dakota from fifth through eighth grades. For a couple of years she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse and always remembered the day her father announced that she and her siblings would not have to go to school that day because the schoolhouse had burned down! Faye attended three different high schools, graduating with honors from Pullman High School in the state of Washington. With a career goal of being a secretary to a "big executive," Faye majored in secretarial studies at Washington State for 2 years, but dropped out and accepted a job in Washington, D.C., with the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service (part of the World War II effort). After a year, she moved back to Seattle to work for the Office of Defense Transportation, Division of Railway Transport. While vacationing in San Francisco, Faye decided she wanted to live there so she took a job with the Calaveras Cement company in downtown San Francisco. She loved it and stayed seven years before retiring in 1950. During those years Faye lived in "boarding houses," common at the time, where a furnished room and meals were provided.

In June 1946, Faye had a blind date with Bob Cornell and they were married 12 months later. Bob was just starting out as an insurance broker with E. H. Marriman and Sons, and he continued with the same firm for over thirty years, eventually becoming President. Faye and Bob adopted their daughter Kathy in 1952 and three years later adopted their second daughter, Nancy. They lived in Burlingame for most of the years of raising their family, with a couple of years spent in San Francisco. During those years, Faye was very active in the home and community, as a Girl Scout leader, helping in the classroom, and she even found time to play golf and bridge. She was an excellent seamstress and made many clothes for her daughters. Bob and Faye loved to entertain and had a wide group of friends. They also enjoyed traveling, and their trips included interesting towns with golf courses nearby. When Bob retired, they moved to the very small town of Graeagle, CA.

Bob passed away in 1997, then a few years later, Faye moved closer to family in Redding. Since that time, she enjoyed many happy years living at Hilltop Estates and, then, at Hallmark House. Her family is grateful for the excellent care and kindness provided to her by the dedicated staff there.

Faye was a devoted mother and wife and was loved dearly by her family. She will be greatly missed. She is survived by her daughters, Kathy Cornell of Silverton, Oregon and Nancy DiBella (Nick) of Redding, California as well as five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

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