12/01/2017
Obituary for Dr. Vincent Cornetta. Rest in peace.
Dr. Vincent T. Cornetta
Norfolk - Dr. Vincent Cornetta was born in Italy on June 26, 1920. He came to the U.S. through Ellis Island in June 1927 with his mother, sister and brother to join their father who immigrated in 1921. Due to newly enacted stringent immigration laws they were separated for six years. He was reared in The Bronx, NY where attended both public and Catholic schools. He completed his pre-optometry studies at St. John's University in New York. When WWII started in Europe he interrupted his studies to work in Washington at the Secretary of War's office. With entry of the US in the war, he transferred to the Office of the Chief Signal Officer where he became a supervisor in the Message Center. Soon thereafter, he volunteered and was assigned to the army Signal Corps at the Message Center. He served in England and France. While in England he attended a British Royal Air Force Code School, learning to code and decode messages used by the RAF. The school was located in the city of Oxford and he always joked that he went to school in Oxford. After the war, and being discharged from the army, he returned to his civilian job at The Pentagon. They placed him in a different section than the one he had left. The supervisor was Louise Crawford, a pretty girl from Louisiana. In due time, they were married on September 1, 1946. They both left their civilian jobs for him to continue his education, receiving his Doctor of Optometry degree from Southern College of Optometry in Memphis TN. While at school on the G.I. Bill, Louise worked at the local Veterans Administration Hospital and he would tell everyone that she worked his way through college. He started his practice of Optometry in Portsmouth in 1950. He was past-president of the Tidewater Optometric Society and The Virginia Academy of Optometry.
Vincent was a member of Norfolk Council #367 Knights of Columbus and a member of MJ O'Keefe 4th degree. He was a past Grand Knight, former District Deputy and Past State Deputy. He was also a former member of the International Order of the Alhambra, Padul Caravan No. 69. He was a member Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and was a former member of St. Pius X Catholic Church where he served on many boards and committees. He was the first president of the St. Pius X Federal Credit Union and one of the founders of the Father Francis Toner Scholarship at St. Pius School. He oversaw its investments and the distribution of scholarships for more than 25 years.
He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Louise Crawford Cornetta and two children, his daughter Christie Cornetta and her husband John Jackson, his son, Dr. James Cornetta and his two grandchildren, Victoria and Anna Cornetta.
A Knights of Columbus Chalice Ceremony will be conducted at 6:00 p.m. on Friday evening in the Norfolk Chapel of H. D. Oliver Funeral Apts. followed by a visitation until 8:00 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated the next day (Saturday) at 1:00 p.m. in Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church with Father Joseph H. Metzger III officiating. Burial will follow in Forest Lawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 6400 Newport Ave., Norfolk, VA 23595. Online condolences may be offered to the family through www.hdoliver.com.
