James "J.R." Cornell

James “J.R.” Cornell, loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather.

Olean- James R. Cornell of Goodrich Avenue, Olean, passed away unexpectedly Friday, (July 28, 2023) at the Buffalo General Hospital with his family by his side.

Born August 8, 1933 in Portville, he was the son of Albert R. and Mae (Huntington) Cornell. Jim was a graduate of Portville Central School, Class of 1951 and SUNY Alfred Class of 1953. He served proudly in the US Army. On December 12, 1959 he married Joreen Chesner at Sacred Heart Church of Portville. They had a long and loving marriage for 63 years and raised a beautiful family. Joreen survives and will always carry the memories of the life they built together.

Anyone that knew Jim, knew what a great work ethic he had and how much he loved running heavy equipment, which he did until the very end. He owned Cornell Contracting Heavy Equipment where one of the projects he was most known for was the Portville Drive Inn. Other projects are too numerous to list as everyone around town knew Jim was the guy to call if you needed dirt moved. He worked for some families for over 30 years. In his ‘retirement’ he worked at Sprague’s until he was 80 years old. For more than 55 years he held several positions with the Weston Mills Fire Department, including President. He was also past president of the New York Chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors of America, where he was selected Contractor of the Year in 1979, and Vice President of Arrowhead Gas Producers.

In his spare time, he enjoyed working on tractors, making maple syrup in the spring, and apple cider in the fall. You could most often find Jim in his sugar shack, fixing something, or making sure everything was taken care of for his friends and family. He was an avid Bills fan, enjoyed playing cards and was especially fond of his cat Jack.

Jim was extremely well respected and taught his family hard work and kindness. He will be greatly missed by his loving family. In addition to Joreen, his wife, he is survived by his children Dennis (Kelly Martin) Cornell of Portville, Dale (Karen) Cornell of Portville, Darla Cornell Zuscik of Rochester, Dawn (Duval Moore) Cornell of Rochester; grandchildren Dana Cornell, Darcy Case, Meghan (Lucas) Johnson, Joseph Pastore, Kayleigh (Jason) Bundschuh, Kate Zuscik, Luke Zuscik; great-grandchildren, Sophia and Noah Case, Lincoln and Parker Cornell, Cash and Kane Johnson, Kylee St. Amour, Ryker Bundschuh; a sister Alberta (the late Richard) Faulkner, of Olean and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by grandchildren Kristin Lee Cornell in 1982 and Adam John Cornell in 1986.

Family will receive friends 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday (Aug. 2, 2023) at the Guenther Funeral Home, Inc. 1303 East State St. Olean. Private funeral services will be held at the convenience of the family. Burial will be in the Obi Cemetery with military honors.

Memorials may be made to the Westons Mills Fire Department, P.O. Box 601, Westons Mills, NY 14788. Online condolences may be made at guentherfh.com.