Edward Norman Corneilson

Edward N. Corneilson died peacefully in his sleep on June 18, 2019 at Estelle’s House, a hospice in Ocala, Florida. His wife of 59 years, Linnea Anne (Stone), was with him at the end. He had been suffering from COPD and congestive heart failure for several months. In addition to his wife, he is survived by four sons, Paul, Eric, John, and David; six grandchildren, Joshua, Katherine, Kirsten, Nicholas, Alexander, and Julian; and his brother, Howard. He was predeceased by a sister (Doris) and a grandson (Christian).

Edward was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 29, 1936 to Esther (Jacobsen) and Edward M. Corneilson. At the age of twelve, his family moved to Succasunna, New Jersey, where he graduated from Roxbury High School, and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1958 at Uppsala College in East Orange, New Jersey (now incorporated into Wagner College). He then went to Augustana Seminary in Rock Island, Illinois (now part of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago), and was ordained in the Augustana Synod at Detroit in 1962, the last class to be ordained before the LCA came into existence (now part of the ELCA). He was married on June 15, 1960 in Rock Island, and spent his intern year at First Emmanuel in Portland, Oregon (1960–61).

He served the following parishes: First Lutheran in Grassflat and Holy Trinity in Lanse, Pennsylvania, 1962–65; St. John’s Lutheran in Millheim, PA, 1965–79; Salem Lutheran Church in Rockford, Illinois, 1979–84; Zion Lutheran in Rockford (as minister of music), 1984–88; Laurel Trinity Lutheran in Jennerstown, PA, 1988–98; and Thomas Mills and Casebeer, PA (as interim minister), 1999–2001. He was instrumental in the formation of the Penns Valley Medical Center, which opened in the early 1970s. After retiring from the ministry, he moved to Ocala in 2005, and served as minister of music at St. Matthew’s Lutheran from 2005–16. Later in life he earned a D.Min. at Philadelphia Theological Seminary (now part of United Lutheran Seminary).

Edward was a musician and organist, and had a fine tenor voice. He also performed as oboist in the State College Symphony Orchestra and started bell choirs in Salem, Laurel Trinity, and St. Matthew’s, and performed in a touring group in Rockford. He directed children’s choirs at St. John’s and Salem, and the Laurel Highlands Chorale, a community chorus in Somerset County, PA. He also performed in plays and musicals at Starlight Theatre and the Mendelssohn Club in Rockford and Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown.

He enjoyed traveling, and last year took a cruise to Cozumel with his family as well as a cruise to Scandinavia with his wife and brother and sister-in-law. Among many talents, he was skilled in needlepoint (his mother was a seamstress) and model railroads (like his father). He was a long-time member of the Lions Club, played golf, and was an avid concert and theater-goer, volunteering at both the Ocala Symphony and Ocala Civic Theatre.

As a husband, father, and pastor he touched many lives in the communities he served. Contributions may be made in his honor to the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, (LSTC.edu/giving)