Anthony Tony Cornelius

Rockford- Anthony Tony T. Cornelius, 91 nbsp;passed away peacefully after a long battle with prostate cancer and recent heart problems onnbsp; Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center . Born, April 24, 1919 in Kansas City, KS the son of Biagio Ben and Angelina (Guzzardo) Coniglio. nbsp;Married his loving wife Helen L. Jans on April 29, 1939 at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church. Tony was employed as a machinist most of his life, and very proud that he could find a trade with Italian heritage in a Swedish town, hence the reason for the last name change from Coniglio to Cornelius. Later in his career Tony bought into a machine business, Jefco Machine Screw Products, with Roy Johnson and Earl Korsberg. nbsp;He was a loving, gentle soul who always had time for others.nbsp; Tony would always take it upon himself to visit the sick and infirmed and enjoyed spreading cheer to others. He was a man of great faith and he lived it every day. nbsp;Family was always very important to Tony and when his wife passed away, he made sure they were his top priority. His family found much comfort and joy knowing that he was there for all of them. Survivors include his children, Bernie (Sonja) Cornelius of Rockford, Ron (Cheri) Cornelius of WI and Marie (Brad) Block of Roscoe; grandchildren, Tony (Micki Small) Cornelius , Tina (Lance) Pahle of Sandwich, Matt (Lori) Cornelius, Jeff nbsp;Cornelius, Tina Barton, Brent (Cheryl) Johnson and Melissa (Brad) Moore; great grandchildren, Jenna, Lily and Zacharia Cornelius ,Tori and Jodi nbsp;Pahle, Zach and Andrew Barton, Jordan Johnson and Lauren, Grant, Brynnely and Faith nbsp;Moore and great great-grandchildren, Tara Smith and Livia Cornelius and siblings, Josephine Norkaitis and Joseph Coniglio.nbsp; Preceded in death by his parents, wife, Helen in 1990, 2 sisters, Mary Scarpetta and Lena Jans and 3 brothers, George, Frank and Sam Coniglio and loving brother-in-law and friend, Stanley Jans. nbsp;The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful staff and all of his friends at OSF St. Anthony Medical Center.

Funeral mass, Wednesday, Dec. 29 at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic church 4401 Highcrest. Interment in Calvary Catholic Cemetery. Visitation on Wednesday at church from 9:00 until time of prayer at 9:45 a.m.nbsp; In lieu of flowers memorials to: the family for a fund to be established at a later date. nbsp;Fitzgerald Funeral Home, Mulford chapel is assisting the family. Express online condolences at: www.fitzgeraldfh.com