BIG LAKE, MN
SEPTEMBER 7, 1953 – NOVEMBER 15, 2020
On November 15, 2020, Sharon (Sherry) C. Cornwell, 67, of Big Lake, was released from her long and difficult journey with early-onset Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). Private family memorial services will take place for Sherry in the near future, and public services will take place at a later date. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Big Lake.
Sherry was born September 7, 1953 in Minneapolis to Richard & Carol (Reed) Biorn. She married James Cottingham in 1977 and they raised three children together. They later divorced but remain good friends. She married Brian Cornwell in 1994 and they raised their youngest child together. She worked at home as a stained-glass artist for almost 20 years before getting her bachelor’s degree from Concordia College in St. Paul. She then built a successful career in Human Resources, working at Medica in Minnetonka for several years before wrapping up her career at Cetera Financial in St. Cloud, retiring in 2016.
Sherry was a confident, optimistic, and fun-loving person who brought out the best in everyone she met. She was athletic – a passionate skier, runner, and sailor; and funny – her brilliant smile and melodic laugh was contagious. She was inherently outdoorsy – she thrived on skis in the mountains and on the water; or with her hands in the earth, tending to her beautiful gardens. More than anything, she loved her family and truly cherished her time with them, especially at the family’s Bay Lake cabin. She had an intuitive way of bringing people together and shining a light on their gifts. Anyone who connected with her generous, loving spirit found a true role model.
She is survived by her devoted husband Brian, their daughter Brianna Cornwell of Big Lake; former husband and good friend James Cottingham of Brooklyn Center and their children, Michelle (Greg) Prokott of Becker; Elisa Cottingham of Singapore; Stephen (Michelle) Cottingham of Minneapolis; grandchildren, Stella, Lincoln, Miles, and Violet Prokott; mother, Carol Biorn of Brooklyn Park; sister, Laurie Breisch of Minnetrista; mother-in-law, Jackie Cornwell (Gale Kistner) of Eau Galle, WI; father-in-law, Dalton (HoeCha) Cornwell of Bentonville, AR; and sister-in-law, Cindy (Kevin) Fuerstneau of Wabasha.
She is preceded in death by her father, Richard, and brother, Stephen.
Memorials are preferred to The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (www.theAFTD.org) or the Bay Lake Improvement Association (www.baylake.org).
