Eugene Cornett

Eugene Phillips Cornett, 84, was born in Plainfield, IN, Sept. 30, 1926, to Pearl L. Phillips and Uriel Cornett, and died June 14, 2011. A veteran of World War II, Gene served in the U.S. Navy's Amphibious Forces in the South Pacific. After attending Butler University and Indiana Business College, he entered the accounting field and practiced Public Accounting for 29 years. He served as president of the Indiana Society of Public Accountants, was a charter member of the Broad Ripple Sertoma Club, and a member of the Estate Planning Council of Indianapolis. He was a pioneer in the movement for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) for the accounting profession. Appointed by former Governor Otis Bowen to serve on the Indiana State Board of Accountancy, he was re-appointed by former Governor Robert Orr, who then honored him as a Sagamore of the Wabash. After retiring from accounting, he managed, owned and helped develop real estate in fast-growing Hamilton County, Indiana. He enjoyed the challenge of a win-win business deal. He was loving, kind, generous and funny. Honesty and fairness were among his strongest virtues. He loved Scrabble, which lead him to invent and patent a special accessory to be used with word games. He enjoyed listening to and singing country and gospel music. Homemade ice cream and anything with blackberries were his favorite foods. He was predeceased by his 2 sisters, Ruth Elder and Patricia Freeman. He will be sadly missed by his loving wife of 13 years, Helen E. (Lewis), four children, Susan (Gary) Melton, Carol (John) Mays, Janice Cornett, and Dr. Charles E. Cornett and grandchildren, Bryan, Todd, and Craig Melton, Jennifer Reuter, Megan and David Cornett and great grandchildren, Breanna, Hunter, Braeden, Brody, Gavin, and Gala Rose. Visitation will be from 4 to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, June 17th and the service will be Saturday, June 18th at 1:00 p.m. in Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Center - Broad Ripple, with burial at Crown Hill Cemetery. You are invited to go to the Guest Book page to pass along your personal message or tell a story. Sincerely, -Your friends at Flanner and Buchanan