Stanley Cornelius biography: 13 things about US Army veteran born in Spokane, Washington

Who was Stanley Cornelius?

Stanley Robert Cornelius was an American man born in Spokane, Washington, United States to Joseph Morand “Joe” Cornelius and Freida Eike. Stanley was a U.S. Army veteran.

Joe was born in California, USA while Eike was born Petra Jacobsdotter in Eike Farms, Fister, Rogaland, Norway. Aside from Stanley, the couple has three more children namely Joseph F. Cornelius, Elmer Morand Cornelius and Eleanor Cornelius.

After Joe’s death, Eike was not able to care for all of her four children. Elmer, Eleanor and Stanley were sent to live in the Odd Fellows Orphanage in Walla Walla, Washington. 

During World War II, Stanley enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps where he became a B-17 pilot. He was stationed in Great Britain and flew 25 bombing missions over Germany. Codenamed Operation Neptune and referred to as D-Day, the Normandy landings in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944 marked his first mission in the USAAC.

Stanley never married. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He graduated from Walla Walla High School in Walla Walla, Washington.
2. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
3. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he worked for the Boeing Company and for Rockwell International.
4. He was a sales representative assigned to the Gemini Spacecraft program, the Apollo Spacecraft program and the B-1 program.
5. In 1926, his father died at the age of 69.
6. In 1950, he moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
7. On November 30, 1965, his mother died at her home in Bigfork, Flathead County, Montana at the age of 80.
8. On August 18, 1996, his sister Eleanor died at the age of 78.
9. On March 30, 1999, his brother Joseph died at the Oak Bluffs Retirement Center and Nursing Facility in Clearwater, Florida, USA at the age of 91.
10. On September 27, 2007, his brother Elmer died in Spokane at the age of 90.
11. In 2009, he moved to the Glen Park West Retirement Community in Glendale, California.
12. On November 24, 2009, he turned 91.
13. On October 16, 2010, he died in Los Angeles.

On May 25, 1982, Stanley’s sister Eleanor found her husband Archie Rutherford dead inside their home in South Hill, Spokane. Archie was fatally stabbed allegedly by Tracy Sabron Pruitt. 

On October 27, 2022, Pruitt was arrested in Los Angeles for Archie’s murder. He was booked into the Spokane County Jail in Spokane.

In May 2023, Pruitt died of bilateral pulmonary thromboemboli due to right lower extremity deep vein thrombosis while in jail. He was 63.