GLADYS CORNELLA obituary

Gladys Juanita Cornella, 94, formally of Havre, died Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2003, in Chandler, Ariz., at a care facility of natural causes.

Her funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Van Orsdel United Methodist Church with the Rev. VaunDalee Delong officiating. Burial will

follow at the Highland Cemetery. A fellowship reception will be held at the church immediately following the graveside service.

Gladys was born on Aug. 23, 1909, to William and Edith (Ryder) Lamphere in Dead Lake Township, Ottertail County, Minn. Her father farmed and the family lived on the farm for many years until they moved to Ottertail. Gladys attended country school and Perham High School.

On April 18, 1927 she married Victor Cornella at Hettinger, N.D. It was a marriage that lasted more than 75 years. He worked in the coal mines until the late 1920s. When the mines closed, the family moved to a farm in South Dakota, where they remained until the depression drove them out. In 1937, the family moved back to Ottertail, Minn., to farm. In 1942 the family moved to Perham, Minn., where he started his career in the grain elevator business. During this time, Gladys became a full-time homemaker, wife, and mother. In 1944 the family moved to Havre, where they remained until 1969, when he retired and they moved to Mesa, Ariz. Victor Cornella died on Dec. 23, 2002.

Gladys worked as a waitress at the Great Northern Beanery during WWII and as a cashier at the Up & Up Caf from 1947 through 1949.

After retirement, Gladys began to enjoy life more, with not as much work. Her hobbies included knitting, crocheting and ceramics, but she also enjoyed a daily swim and walking for exercise. She and her husband loved to dance and attended many dances.

Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, William and Edith (Ryder) Lamphere; husband, Victor Cornella; brothers, Nathan, Ralph, and Eugene Lamphere; sisters, Ethel Leaders and Theresa Clark; grandchildren, Jerry Cornella and Tina (Cornella) Jessen; and great-granddaughter, Gahbriella Courtney.

Survivors include her daughters, Donna E. Larson of Havre, Dolores (Sandy) Bliss and Darla Jasper of Mesa, Ariz.; son, Duane A. (Shirley) Cornella of Cheyenne, Wyo.; 19 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren; and 11 great-great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, 510 First Ave. N., Room 114, Freat Falls, MT59401; the Alzheimer's Association, 2900 12th Ave. N., Suite 4E, Billings, MT 59101; or to a person's choice.

Services and arrangements are under the direction of Holland and Bonine Funeral Home.