Russell Bernard CORNELL

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Russell Bernard Cornell, 91, died at 10:40 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 23, 2010) in Bickford Cottage Assisted Living Home in Quincy, Ill. Mr. Cornell was born Jan. 2, 1919, in New York City to Russell Todd and Julia O'Connell. Mr. Cornell graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., in 1937. He received a bachelor of science in mining engineering from Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., in 1941. Mr. Cornell was a mining engineer for Braden Copper Co. in Chile from 1941-1944, then worked as a mining engineer for St. Joseph Lead Co. in Argentina in 1945. Mr. Cornell then returned to the United States to begin a 38-year career with Mobil Oil Co. He first worked as a seismologist for Magnolia Petroleum Co. in Texas from 1945-1950. Russ was a regional geophysicist for Mobil Oil Co. in Midland, Texas, from 1950-1972. He worked in Houston from 1972-1976 as a geophysical specialist, where he was on special assignment to seismological map the floor of the Gulf of Mexico. He was then transferred to Dallas, where he worked mapping the ocean floor off the coast of Nova Scotia until his retirement in 1983. Mr. Cornell was a member of the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, American Geophysicist Union, American Association Petroleum Geologists and the Dallas Geophysicists Society. Mr. Cornell was honored by the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics as Mobil Oil Corp.'s representative to the Industrial Associates program in 1983. He was instrumental in the gift of Mobil's seismographic ship used in the Gulf of Mexico mapping project to the university's Petroleum Engineering Department. Mr. and Mrs. Cornell were members of the Dallas Watercolor Society and FANA, an international antique fan collecting association. They have enjoyed traveling and watercolor painting during their retirement years. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Mary Wilson of Hope, Ark. Other survivors include a daughter, Julia C. Behrens and her husband, James R. Behrens; and two grandchildren, James C. Behrens of Los Angeles and Katherine E. Behrens of Dallas. SERVICES: 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Smith Funeral Home and Chapel in Hannibal with the Rev. Steve Adkison conducting. Burial will be at a later date in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, N.Y. VISITATION: 1:30 p.m. until time of services Saturday in the funeral home. MEMORIALS: First Presbyterian Church in Hannibal. ARRANGEMENTS: Smith Funeral Home and Chapel, Hannibal. Condolences may be expressed online at www.whig.com.