Loye W. "Tack" Cornelius

Loye W “TACK” Cornelius, Jr

Jan 1, 1946 – June 13, 2018

Tack Cornelius of Gainesville passed away on June 13, 2018 at the age of 72.  He was the son of the late Loye W and Jeane Cornelius.

Tack wore many hats, both literally and figuratively.  He was a son, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a brother, an uncle, a
brother-in-law, a Christian, a Veteran, a neighbor, a friend to many, a voracious reader, a gifted story teller, and a talented writer.

Tack’s love of stories, and both the written and the spoken word, possibly began when he won his 6th grade spelling bee.  He nurtured
that love into a career that began as a newspaper reporter for The Ardmorite in Oklahoma where he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in
Journalism.  He moved on to be a reporter for The Herald Leader in Lexington, KY and then became a speech writer for Martha Lane Collins, the first woman governor of Kentucky. He spent the last 14 years of his career in Atlanta as the speech writer for the CEO of Bellsouth.

One of the speeches he wrote during this time was “The Sea Turtles and the Sound of Humility” a commencement address delivered by highly regarded CEO John Clendenin to the graduating class of the University of South Carolina.  Like Tack, the speech was thoughtful and
well-reasoned and provides a glimpse into what he would be too humble to call a brilliant mind.  In his words, “My argument is for a
willingness to be humble.  It’s an argument that recognizes the twisting and often tormenting complexities of the world that none of
us grasp as comprehensively as we like to think—whether we’re old hands or new college graduates.”

In his retirement Tack wrote several articles for The Atlanta Journal and The Gainesville Times.  He often worked with young people to
encourage and guide them in their writing and public speaking skills. He built gravity go karts for his grandchildren and loved to take them
exploring in the woods to see what wonders of nature they could discover.  He dreamed up a treasure hunt for them on which he had as
much fun as they did.  He got them small fishing poles, as one of the joys of his boyhood was fishing trips to the White River with his dad.
On these trips he shared a love of beautiful, red cardinals and their calls with his dad, and when he tried to spot them his dad would say
look in the top of the tallest tree.

Tack was very strong and liked doing physical labor such as laying brick, a skill learned from his dad, and chopping firewood.  His
physical and mental abilities were affected eight years ago when he was hit head on by a drunk driver.  The irony that he himself had been
a friend of Bill’s for almost 30 years was not lost on him.  He spent many hours speaking to counseling groups so they could witness what
their bad choices might cost others.  Please don’t drink and drive.

In recent years Tack enjoyed spending time in downtown Gainesville on the Square.  He loved good conversation.  You could almost always find him talking with friends, or strangers who often became friends.  He was naturally curious and always wanted to know the stories of people he met and liked sharing his.

Tack was one of a kind.  As a friend and colleague of his said, “There was no one else like him in the world.” He was a good man with a kind
heart.  He always had time to listen, or help a neighbor, or give anyone in need his last dollar.  As another friend said, “I wish I
could learn to love others the way he did.”

25 years ago Tack’s love of words lead him to the Shakespeare Tavern on Peachtree St. in Atlanta where he made many life-long friends and saw many wonderful productions.  His favorite paly was Hamlet; he attended one production 17 times.  As Horatio said at Hamlet’s death, “Good night sweet prince.  And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Tack was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter Heather Cornelius, his sister Linda Clingerman, and his niece Codie Blakeman.

Tack is survived by his wife Janie Cornelius, his children Travis (Pam) Mize, Noah (Crystal) Friend, Shelby (Evan) Sears, & John Friend,
his grandchildren, Zack & Lexi Mize, Noah, Dylan Therese, & Michael Friend, his sister Brenda Thompson, his brothers-in-law Jerry
Clingerman & Mel Blakeman, his brothers and sisters-in-law Rick & Holly Pratt, Dave & Cindy Pratt, Jeff & Care Solsten, his nieces and
nephews Elizabeth, Savannah, Tara, Hank, MacKensy, Jackson, Sara (John), Kelly (Stephanie), Katie, & Dorothy, and his Aunt June
Montgomery.

Memorial services are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Monday June 18 at Ward’s Funeral Home Chapel. Pastor Stephen Wood, Pastor Robby Williams and Rick Pratt will officiate. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Pine Crest Baptist Church 2520 Mountain View Road Gainesville, GA 30504.

Condolences may be made online at https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__wardsfh.com&d=DwIFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=F9v79GTig46BB0PcZDPRrkDQQ-c3OrxtZcZFqjUOGho&m=9D0ZLrBOIjo0iE8oxG269jF2PYXmunJTI_nBv3A1878&s=k3jCJ0UiR-1tNxqsRTCD5vt0Cc42KmLGSWQObFvjq0Q&e= Ward’s Funeral Home 758 Main Street S.W. Gainesville in charge of arrangements.