Obituary: Corneil, Marie Harriet
She was born Harriet Marie Bennett on December 2, 1917 in Bellingham, Washington.
Her father was Lloyd Edwin Bennett; her mother, Iva Muriel Bennett (nĂŠe Ball).
She had four siblings William Edwin, Floy Edith (Oberst), Doris Mabel (Schaezlein), and Jerry Wesley.
After Bellingham, Marie’s family lived in Potlatch, Idaho until 1920 when they moved to Garfield, Washington.
In 1925 they moved to Spokane, their final destination.
In Spokane, Marie attended Jefferson Grade School and Lewis & Clark High School from which she graduated in June 1936.
At Lewis & Clark she was active in Girls Athletic Club as well as Racquet and Tennis.
She was also a member of the school’s Kappa Chi Club, forming strong bonds with a group of young women that would last throughout her life.
After high school, Marie attended the 3-year St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing program in Spokane, graduating in February 1941.
As a registered nurse at St. Luke’s, she rose quickly to become assistant Director of Nurses.
She held this position until her resignation at the time of her first marriage.
On June 7, 1947 Marie married her high school pal, Sidney Tebbs Davis.
Their first son, Jeffrey Lloyd Davis was born in 1948; their second son, Glenn Warren Davis, in 1949.
Marie devoted most of her time in this phase of her life to raising her children.
She also began a 66-year involvement with the PEO sisterhood in 1948 with her Spokane membership in Chapter AZ.
Marie moved with her family to Denver, Colorado in 1961 and Palo Alto, California in 1964.
Sidney died in 1969 which prompted Marie to restart her career as an RN at the local Veterans Administration hospital.
She and her sons moved back to Spokane in 1972, working as a nurse in a doctors office and at Sacred Heart Hospital.
She resigned that position in 1978 to marry Philip Lester Corneil.
Marie had known Philip since his college days.
The couple enjoyed 17 years of active retirement in Seattle; spending many winters in Hawaii, summers with friends at Lake Coeur d’Alene, and special family gatherings at the Corneil home and at Fort Worden State Park.
They also traveled to a variety of destinations in Europe.
Marie is remembered by her second family for “the twinkle in her eye and a great sense of humor;” for her patience and love.
After Philip’s death in 1995, Marie moved back to Spokane where she remained until her death.
She spent her remaining years enjoying activities with friends as well as the Davis and Bennett families, plus gardening, music, decorating, cooking, entertaining and worship at St. Stephens Episcopal Church.
She suffered the loss of her son Jeffrey to cancer in 2004.
Marie is survived by her son Glenn Davis, daughter-in-law Vanita Davis and her grandson Colin Davis (all of Spokane) as well as her granddaughter Deanna Davis of Minneapolis.
She is also survived by her stepdaughters Carolyn Jackson of Kirkland, Ann Nye of Seattle, and Virginia Rohde of Kirkland, as well as her stepson, Philip Corneil of Redmond and eight grandchildren from the Corneil clan.
A memorial service is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on February 9 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church at 57th and Perry in Spokane.
Remembrances may be made to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 5720 S. Perry St. Spokane, WA 99223 or Hospice House South, P.O.
Box 2215, Spokane, WA 99202.