James Michael Cornwell's Obituary
James Michael “Mike” Cornwell was born on October 4, 1944 to Arlena Marie Bishop and Harry Vinton Cornwell in Riverside, CA. Mike entered into eternal rest on September 18, 2021 in Highland, CA after a courageous battle with cancer and kidney failure.
Mike is preceded in death by his parents, brother Harvey Vinton “Jack”, brother-in-law Gary DeMaio “Gun”, son Kyle Lynn Cornwell “Wiley”, and Grandson Blake Michael Cornwell-Bullen.
Survived by his loving wife of 44 years Valerie Cornwell; daughters Michelle Cornwell and her wife Sandy Bullen of Cathedral City, Jodi Ison and her husband Chris of Cathedral City, and Sara Meagan Cornwell of Highland; sons David Cornwell and his wife Shannon of San Bernardino, James Cornwell Jr of Highland, and Ryan Cornwell of Highland; sister Carole Ann DeMaio of Upland; 19 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
Mike was a laborer for Zapata Construction and Macco Construction for many years. In 1983 he obtained his pipeline contractors license and started his own business J & M Boring and retired in 2003. Mike served the California Dept of Forestry and US Forestry Service for many years renting his water trucks to aid firefighters on wild land fires.
Mike loved camping and fishing the Sierra’s. He and his kids took vacations every summer with his sister Carole and her family. He was an avid silver dollar collector and enjoyed looking over his coin collection and adding hard to find pieces when he could.
He was a hardworking man and there was never something he couldn’t fix, although his perfectionism gave his family grief on occasion, he never did anything halfway or cut corners. He taught himself to do many things over the years. He really enjoyed restoring his ’65 Ford Mustang to pristine condition.
Mike was a selfless man, if you had the pleasure of being loved by him, he would do anything for you. His heart was full of compassion for those he loved and cared for. He never held a grudge and always gave people the benefit of the doubt. He had a very forgiving soul.
His greatest pleasure was relaxing at home, watching a good old western or Family Feud on TV. Mike also loved listening to his oldies, he spent many evenings listening to 60’s music on the computer. Mike loved his family and enjoyed holiday gatherings and family celebrations where he could spend time with family members.
His gruff exterior didn’t hide the soft spot he had in his heart for animals. Michael loved his cats and had many he loved over the years. He loved all the dogs his wife brought home too, but he was a cat man at heart.
He will be sorely missed by all those whose lives he touched.
A Chapel Service will be held on Wednesday, October 6 at 10:00 am at Bobbitt Memorial Chapel in San Bernardino and a Graveside Service will be held on Thursday, October 7 at 9:30 am at Montecito Memorial Park in Colton.
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