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Funeral Services for Michael Lynn Cornelsen, 62, will be 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at the Mennonite Brethren Church with Pastor Travis Schmidt officiating. Arrangements are by Fairview Funeral Home, Inc.
Michael Lynn Cornelsen was born September 29,1960, at the Fairview Hospital here in Fairview. God called him home April 18,2023, after a brief but intense battle with Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. He was vocal and mobile up to his death at the age of 62, when he passed peacefully from this life surrounded by family at home.
After high school, he joined the USAF in 1978 and served both at Kunsan AFB, Korea, and Clark AFB, Philippines. He was discharged "Under Honorable Conditions" in April, 1980. At the age of 32, he was baptized and confessed Jesus as his Lord and Savior and received membership into Fairview MB Church in Fairview.
He worked as a mechanic with his father, as a "move man" for Waldon’s, and as a nursing aide in Kansas and Oklahoma at Mental Retardation facilities. The one job he loved was getting hired at Mabar, where his other skills in Information Technology and Programming were recognized by his bosses, Chris and Lonnie Bartel. Mike was allowed to move up from Manager of the Dump truck production and he was eternally grateful.
Drawing on his talent with technology, he introduced the first computers to the Fairview City Library in the late 1990’s, and went on to provide valuable IT & consulting services to the library for many years afterwards. At one point, he was hired to teach several Adult Computer Repair and Networking courses at the Vocational Technical school here at Fairview under a course syllabus he drew up.
He met his current wife Tamara while attending singles events at the Fairview Mennonite Brethren church in the late 1990’s. The two of them hit it off, and he impressed her with his knowledge of art history and funny imitations of movie character voices. They fell in love and were married June 19, 1999, in Ringling, Oklahoma by her father, Reverend Larry Adkisson. They remained a close couple over the 23 years of their marriage.
He had many hobbies including model rocketry, guitars, fishing and hunting, amateur astrophotography, amateur “ham” radio, and motorcycling. He built a model of the Mercury 4 rocket that he loaned to the Fairview City Library for public display during their 2019 Summer Reading Program, along with other memorabilia he collected. He always enjoyed listening to his stepson Stephen play the guitar, and sometimes enjoyed plucking the strings himself.
He enjoyed visiting the Canton Rifle Range with his daughter Lindsey and son-in-law Andrew, as well as any family member he could bring. He also enjoyed taking out his Celestron Telescope and sharing great pictures with family, friends, and the NW Oklahoma Amateur Astronomy group he founded. He was able to share this love of astronomy with his son Bryan.
He won many awards in amateur radio, such as the Home Run Award - in which he made contact with all 50 States using Morse Code, Voice Methods, and Digital methods such as Radio Teletype amongst the few. He obtained the highest class of radio license, Amateur Radio Practitioner, known as, ”Amateur Extra”. He received postcards from many places around the globe as a result of his ham radio contacts, and he and his wife enjoyed receiving them.
His greatest love was for motorcycling. He loved getting out on the road, and participated in several “poker runs”. A photo he took of his 2002 Honda VT750 Shadow Ace was chosen to appear in the July, 2011th issue of the American Motorcycling Association’s "American Motorcycling" magazine.
He had a fun-loving and mischievous side, and visits to restaurants with the kids were always peppered with the “traditional” spit wad fights while waiting for food. He and his daughter Mikala regularly played “slug bug” any time they saw a VW Beetle, and also enjoyed exchanging “Todd Five” high fives, from the series Scrubs, aiming for the loudest sound possible, even if it hurt their hands.
He was a lifetime member of #999 of the Oklahoma City Chapter of the Downed Biker Association. It was always when he was on the road that he felt the call to ministry, quietly and unknown. He did not know a stranger, was always willing to stop and talk to someone, and never hesitated to stop and help strangers on the side of the road. He tried to make a difference and did his best to follow Jesus Christ, whom he loved with all his heart.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Sophia Francis and Elferd Cornelsen, both of whom resided in Fairview, Oklahoma; sister Sharon Hett of Palmer, Alaska; and finally, Calvin Kenneth Cornelsen, who died in a fiery crash June, 1970, at the Sandcreek Bridge just at the Eastern edge of Fairview, Oklahoma.
He is survived by his current, much beloved wife, Tamara Rene of Fairview; his brother, Sherman Ray, of Kiowa, Kansas, and beloved nephew Troy also of Kiowa; his son by a previous marriage, Bryan Phillip and his wife Briana, and grandsons he got to meet and know- Aiden, Lucius, and Tristan; daughter, Mikala Fleites, husband Frank, and the granddaughter they gave him Isabella, all of Tampa, Florida; stepson Stephen Luis Lord of Fairview; and stepdaughter Lindsey Anne Fleming & husband Andrew of Enid, and grandchildren they gave him, Torrey Anne Fleming & Jackson William Fleming, who he affectionately called “Bubba”. Michael fully accepted and oft defended his role as being father to his stepchildren as his own. To all, Mike wants you to know that all of you are deeply appreciated, loved, and cherished.
Condolences may be made online at www.fairviewfuneralhomeinc.com
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