April 30, 1941 – Feb. 21, 2024
Sharon Lynn Cornelius passed from this life into the waiting arms of her departed loved ones on Feb. 21, 2024. She left peacefully and was surrounded by family who miss her dearly.
She came into this world to parents, Maude and Carlos Rasmussen, who long awaited a child to fill their arms and heart on April 30, 1941, in Pamona. She spent her formative years being raised in California and moved six times due to her father’s various employment opportunities.
Sharon was a bright, beautiful, and tenacious child. Learning came easy and education was a lifelong pursuit. She had an immense drive to seek truth and live it with the highest integrity. She would often stand her ground even to her own detriment. In her later years, she softened and started to see that there were other more important things than truth. She found that people, especially her family, meant more than her force of will.
She was the oldest of four living children. She had many adventures in her youth with brother Larry and sisters, Suzanne and Diane. Even at the end of her life, she retained vibrant memories of working on the sheep ranch. It was her father’s greatest wish to be a farmer but life had other plans and he ended up working with his brother in a construction business.
She graduated high school in Gridley, California. She then attended college at Brigham Young University where she studied and obtained a Bachelors of Science in Food and Nutrition with a minor in Chemistry. It was during these years where she met Merrill Cornelius. They dated a few years until Sharon finally agreed to marry him.
Sharon and Merrill were married and sealed in the Los Angeles temple on Aug. 24, 1961. They began their family shortly thereafter. They were blessed with three boys and four girls; Gregory, Christopher, Kim, Janel, Michael, Sharyl, and Catherine.
Sharon and Merrill moved over twenty-seven times throughout their life together. Sharon loved to travel, so new places were always filled with sightseeing and vacations. She also filled her time with serving in various auxiliaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her favorite was serving two missions with Merrill. The first was in Salt Lake City for church and family history and the second was the Charlotte, North Carolina mission.
She is survived by her husband, Merrill and her children; Gregory (Mary Ford) Cornelius, Christopher (Rhonda) Cornelius, Kim (David) Melling, Janel (Clay) Rhodes, Michael Cornelius, Sharyl (Dennis Callaway) Cornelius and Catherine (Andrew Jones) Cornelius, 19 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren, siblings Larry Rasmusssen, Suzanne Cone, and Diane Bassett.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Maude and Carlos Rasmussen, brother Gary Franklin, nieces Jennifer Cone and Stephny Bassett, sister-in-law Jeanine Waisaith and brother-in-laws David Cone and Don Cornelius.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 2nd at the Cresthaven LDS Chapel located at 1070 S. 2nd East, Rexburg, Idaho. The family will receive friends Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Flamm Funeral Home and again Saturday 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the church prior to services. Interment will be at the Sugar City Cemetery.