Nancy Markle Cornwell, a force of a woman who enriched our lives with her laughter, her songs and her ability to get anyone to tell their life story within 5 minutes of meeting her, died Oct. 20, 2023 after complications related to an infection. She was 71.
Nancy was born Feb. 20, 1952, in Kansas City as the sixth and youngest child of Alma Rose (Davenport) Markle and Charles Mitchel Markle. As a child, she was a member of Southeast Baptist Church and sang with her sisters Joyce and Janet for the congregation. She graduated from Southeast High School, where she was involved with several groups including yearbook staff, the human relations council (a club dedicated to addressing race relations at their school and throughout Kansas City) and many choirs.
She then went to Central Missouri State University (now University of Central Missouri) in Warrensburg. She was a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority and during her senior year was crowned a Homecoming princess. She was a weather girl for a local TV channel (this mostly involved standing and pointing at a screen, rather than actual meteorology, she would say) and during the summers, she worked as a counselor at Camp Miniwanca in Michigan and often spoke fondly of the beautiful camp and lakes. One of her greatest memories and points of pride was being a part of The One and Only Singers, a college vocal group whose members forged lifelong friendships.
She worked for the State of Missouri as a social worker after graduation, focused on children in the foster-care system in central Missouri. Once, a father held her at gunpoint while she tried to bring a child away from an abusive household. She sat down and calmly talked with him until he dropped the weapon. Despite the hardships, she loved working with children and families.
In the late 1980s, she lived in Kansas City and earned a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She then worked as a therapist in the Kansas City area.
She had many achievements and joys in her life, but none compared to raising her children, Paige and Carl. Before and often after her stroke in 2002, she was at every school event, at Paige’s violin recitals, where she told the extremely white lie that Paige sounded great, and Carl’s basketball games, where she screamed “take it downtown” despite that not being a helpful — or accurate — cheer.
She loved all of Paige’s and Carl’s friends, too, and was happy to be the house mom for what was dubbed Nancy’s Home for Hug-Starved Boys. Their Leawood home served as a hub for teenagers, dogs with weird names and lots of laughter.
She was so looking forward to Paige’s June wedding to Sean, whom she was already calling her son, and Carl’s upcoming bodybuilding competitions. She deserved so much in this life. We grieve all she won’t get to see but know she is watching over us, waiting to envelop us in a hug.
Her family is eternally grateful to the Menorah Medical Center’s ICU staff, whose kindness served as a light during our darkest moments.
She is survived by her daughter Paige Cornwell and her fiance, Sean Quinton, of Seattle, Washington; her son Carl Cornwell of Kansas City; and her “bonus daughter” Ashley Cornwell of Los Angeles, California, and “bonus grandsons” Winston and Morgan. She is also survived by her niece Paula Barclay (Collyer) of Colorado and brother-in-law Donald Russell of Brookfield, Missouri, and many more beloved nieces, great-nieces and great-nephews and cousins throughout the U.S.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Alma Rose (Davenport) Markle and Charles Mitchel Markle; sisters: Mildred Jane Barclay, Shirley Jean Markle, Joyce Ann Markle, Janet (Markle) Russell; and brother, Charles Markle.
Funeral services will be held at Floral Hills Funeral Home, 7000 Blue Ridge Boulevard, on Friday at 10 a.m., with a visitation shortly before the service for anyone who would like to see her. A reception at the funeral home will follow burial. If you are unable to attend her service in person, please click on this link to watch it live and recorded: https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/8121429133
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