Dr. Robert Eastwood Cornell

1932 - 2017

Dr. Robert Eastwood Cornell

Charlotte, NC

Dr. Robert Eastwood Cornell passed away on March 24, 2017 at his home in Charlotte, NC surrounded by his loving family. Bob was born on January 9, 1932 in Port Chester, NY to the late Robert E. Cornell, Sr. and Dorothy (Kaiser) Cornell. Bob will be remembered for his love of family, his quick and mischievous wit and his willingness to welcome and conquer life's challenges with a focus and determination to be admired and honored.

Bob attended Cornell University as an undergraduate and received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1955. A proficient rider, he joined the polo team, and was a member of the Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity and Alpha Psi Fraternity, the national veterinary fraternity. After spending two years in the U.S. Air Force at Andrews AFB, Bob moved to Greenwich, CT and opened an equine practice, caring for thoroughbreds at the racetrack and at farms in and around Fairfield County, CT and Westchester County, NY, and later opening his own small animal hospital in Riverside, CT.

Bob was a longtime resident of Greenwich, CT and Vero Beach, FL. He was an avid golfer and tennis player, enjoying the courts and courses at both the Greenwich Country Club and the Sea Oaks Beach and Tennis Club. He was known for his beautiful singing voice, and would openly share that talent at any event, dinner table, choir or hospital bed, enriching the ears of anyone who happened to be within earshot. He will be remembered by his granddaughter, Molly, for their shared love of horses, his grandsons, Will and John, for their shared bawdy senses of humor, his grandsons Kyle and Ryan for fishing off his dock and playing on the beach, and by all his grandchildren, for spirited and marathon games of Uno and Cards Against Humanity.

Bob was preceded in death by his beautiful wife, Claire Curley Cornell. He is survived by his children, Carolyn and her husband Paul Donohue of Charlotte, North Carolina and Jim and his wife Kelly Cornell of Darien, Connecticut, and his grandchildren, Molly, Will and John Donohue and Kyle and Ryan Cornell.

As a family, we express our heartfelt thanks to Bob's wonderful caregivers (Curtis, Rackell, David, Reginald, Carlos, Hattie, Sara), and to the team of angels from Hospice and Palliative Care of Charlotte Region who provided comfort for Bob and our family in his final days.

A private service and burial will be held in Greenwich, CT. A memorial service will be held in Charlotte, NC at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region, 1420 E. 7th Street, Charlotte, NC 28204.

Arrangements are in the care of Hankins & Whittington Funeral Service, 1111 East Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28203 online at www.hankinsandwhittington.com