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Obituary

Tampa loses gifted surgeon

By Marty Clear
Published December 29, 2006

From the time he was 6 years old, Gene Cornett knew what he wanted to do with his life. His friends at that age may have wanted to be cowboys or firefighters, but he knew he wanted to be a doctor.

"He was a man of great focus," said his son, Charlie Cornett. "Once he set his mind on something, there was no stopping him."

For more than 30 years, Dr. Cornett was one of the Tampa area's leading surgeons.

He was among the founding doctors at University Community Hospital in 1968 and spent the following seven years as its chief of surgery. In 1970 and 1971, he was the chief of staff at UCH.

Dr. Cornett, 81, died Dec. 8, 2006, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for many years.

As a child growing up in Salem, Va., he looked to his neighbor, a doctor, as his hero It was largely because of that man that young Gene Cornett set his sights on a medical career, and the doctor helped Gene with his early studies. Partly because of that help, Dr. Cornett graduated from college at age 19.

He spent a year in the Navy near the end of World War II, then attended medical school at Duke University. He joined the Army and served two years with a medical unit. He finished his term as a captain and his awards included the Korean Service Medal with five Bronze Service Stars.

After the war, he returned to Virginia and completed his residency at the University of Virginia Hospital.

There, he met a student nurse who would become Freddie Cornett.

Shortly after they married in 1956, the couple visited a friend in Tampa and decided to relocate. They settled first on Davis Islands, then Palma Ceia and later in Carrollwood. They moved to Sun City Center 11 years ago.

Dr. Cornett opened his general surgery practice in 1957. His wife worked with him, often serving as office manager.

He was very work-oriented, his wife said, but he always made time for family and friends.

"He was just such a loving, gentle man," she said. "So many people remarked to me 'Gene didn't have a single enemy in this world.' "

He worked long hours, but almost always made it home to have dinner with his wife and their four children, even if it meant he had to go back to work afterward.

"I can remember in high school, I'd be coming home at 12 or 1 o'clock and he'd be leaving to do emergency surgery. He'd had dinner, maybe even been to sleep, but there he was in his coat and tie heading to the hospital," Charlie Cornett said.

"And he had to be back at the hospital again at 6 a.m. So one of the things that amazed me about him was not just his work ethic but his stamina.,"

Dr. Cornett's wife was his primary caregiver for nearly a decade as he battled Alzheimer's. He spent the past year and a half in a nursing home.

Besides his wife and son Charlie, Dr. Cornett is survived by sons Michael and Thomas, daughter Barbara Cornett Nathan, 12 grandchildren, one great-grandson, a brother and two sisters.

[Last modified December 28, 2006, 11:16:59]