Jr. was born on August
5th of 1952. He
departed from this earth on April 12th of
2003, making his stay here on earth 50 years, 4 months and 7
days. He was the first-born child to Verlin “Bud” Cornett and Sarah Frances
Miniard Cornett. At the time of his passing he was survived by
his parents, father, Verlin “Bud” Cornett, and mother, Sarah Frances
Miniard Cornett; 1 brother, Michael Anthony Cornett; 1 sister-in-law
(wife of Michael) Katie, who grieved greatly because of his passing;
one niece, 2 great nieces, 1 great nephew; and a host of family and
friends. He was loved very much and had a lot of friends. Jr. loved his
Aunt Ruby Watts dearly and enjoyed visiting and talking
with her. His niece, Casi,
and great niece, Courtney, he also loved dearly. But
his great niece, Courtney,
just melted his heart. She was special to him and they were
very close. He looked forward to her coming and
staying with us so he could spend time
with her.
Jr. was 4 1/2 years old when his little
sister, Sarah Ann, was born. She was a
beautiful baby. She was a perfectly healthy, 8 lbs and 2 oz., baby. The
doctor let her strangle on fluid, which led to her death on February 27th
of 1957. This left him being our only child until he was 10 years old.
The loss of Sarah Ann grieved us all. He always said, “I wonder
what she would have looked like if we had gotten to keep her.” He so
longed to see her someday. When he was 10, we had him a baby
brother. This just overjoyed him so much that he had to name his
little brother himself. He named him Michael Anthony and he became his
heart and soul. He would do anything for him and always did. They
cherished one another.
Mike always looked up to his big brother. Jr.
never had any children, but always said
that Michael felt like his own because they were so close.
Big brother was a hero in Michael’s eyes. He always watched over
Michael, guided and protected him. I believe he still does, only now
being his guardian angel.
Jr. was always a very sweet and loving child.
He stayed that way all his life. I
believe he is now in Heaven, because he told me the Lord had saved
him. He was going to join the church and be baptized our next church
time, but the Lord seen fit to call him home before he got to. I
believe he is now in Heaven with Jesus. I also believe his loving wife,
Sonja, his wonderful dad and little baby sister are there with him. Bud
never saw a well day after the loss of our first-born son. But, I
believe they are reunited in Heaven and await their loved ones to join them.
Jr. was my darling son and was the greatest
friend a mom could every have. He
touched all of our lives and left a lasting impression on us all. His
sweet smile will always be embedded in our memories. But I believe in
my heart, we will all get to be together again in Heaven, and we’ll
never have to part again.
