Richard Cornwall passed away on February 2nd, 2021 at home surrounded by family, after a hard fought battle with Pancreatic cancer. He was 74 years old. He was son of the late Thomas and Jean ( nee MacLeish) Cornwall, beloved husband of Bonnijean (nee Juried) for 53 years, adoring father to Alexa (John) Mullin and Penny ( Peter) Tantala, and the absolute best Poppy ever to McKenna, Johnny, Brooke & Thomas Mullin and AJ & Emily Tantala. Baby brother to Jimmy ( Pris) Cornwall & Rita Bloom. Ritchie also had nieces and nephews, a ton of cousins and plenty of non blood related “ family” as well.
Born and raised in Penndel, he cut his teeth on the hardwood at Our Lady of Grace Catholic school where he attended Grade school, before heading to Neshaminy HS. ( ‘64) Rich honed his shooting skills & basketball IQ with local legends; Dick Dougherty & Howie Landa, which landed him his scholarship to Syracuse University (‘68) He played overseas in Europe, and was a major player in the Eastern League & CBA all while working as a Physical Educator. He began his teaching career at his alma mater and later moved to Delhaas, and finally to Harry S. Truman in Bristol Township. Over the course of his 35+ years he coached basketball at Neshaminy, Delhaas & Truman & tennis at Bensalem & Truman. He also had a stint as the owner of a Pepperidge Farm Bread Route. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Neshaminy HS All Sports Hall of fame, the Bucks County Sports Hall of Fame, the Hall of fame at Syracuse University, and way too many All Decade Teams to be named. He was also an avid tennis player and was ranked for years in the USTA Senior and Super Senior age groups.
With all of his athletic accolades his biggest asset was his commitment to family. His daughters and 6 grandchildren, and all their teammates and friends were blessed to have “Poppy” cheering them on at pretty much every soccer, basketball, & baseball game they played as well as every concert, musical and academic awards ceremony they had. He was and will always be The Man, the Myth, the Legend!
Family and friends are invited to call on Thursday, February 4, 2021, from 6:00 until 8:00 pm and on Friday, February 5, 2021, from 9:00 until 10:00 am at the James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, Inc., 2200 Trenton Road, Levittown, where his funeral service will be held on Friday at 10:00 am. Interment will take place in Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery, Langhorne.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Richie Cornwall ‘Skins Basketball Scholarship Foundation. Please send donations : Neshaminy High School, C/O McKenna Mullin, 2001 Old Lincoln Hwy, Langhorne PA 19047.
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