Lucille Helen Cornelius

Lucille Helen Cornelius was born July 12, 1926 to mother Adelaide Sellers and father Philipien Broussard in Beaumont, Texas.   She was preceded in death by her husband, Leon L. Cornelius.   She attended Hebert High School in Beaumont, Texas. She pursued her first two years of higher education at Xavier University, New Orleans where she met her future husband Leon L. Cornelius. She completed her degree with a music major at Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas. She was very proud of the fact that the inscription on her degree read “Texas Southern University for Coloreds.”   She and Leon married in 1950. To this union were three children were born: Toni Eyvonne, Susan Alexis and Leon Philip.   After starting her teaching career in Beaumont, Tx. she and Leon taught in Sugarland, Texas before moving to Chicago in 1951.   Lucille had a fulfilling career as an elementary school teacher, working for 35 years in the Chicago Public School System. One of her greatest joys was when someone tapped her on the back and asked, “Mrs. Cornelius do you remember me?”   Her Christian faith was deeply rooted in St. Jude Thaddeus Church which she and our father helped build in 1959. She was actively involved in the Ladies Guild, the CAPS theater group and the finance committee.   She was an avid traveler, loved bowling and line dancing, which she introduced her grandson Sean to during the summers he spent with her in Chicago.   Lucille does not leave anyone to mourn her, only to celebrate her new life. She is survived by Toni Eyvonne Cornelius, Susan Alexis (Anthony) Stewart of Houston, TX., and Leon Philip (Theresa) Cornelius, of Naperville, IL. She is blessed to have four grandchildren, Sean, Nicole, Brian and Emily and one great-grandson Hendrix.