Anna Cornell DeHart died peacefully in her sleep on Monday, May 22nd and went to be with her Lord and Savior in her 105th year of a life well lived.
Anna was truly an extraordinary woman who was way ahead of her time. She grew up in Warrington PA where she attended Doylestown High School and subsequently graduated from West Chester Normal School with a teaching degree. She taught 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades at the Warwick Elementary School. Anna was destined for a life of business, however, and in 1939 with the help of her parents, she purchased and operated The Ivyland General Store, where she served as Post Mistress. During World War II, she enlisted in the U.S Navy as a WAVE. After basic training she was stationed at Lakehurst Naval Air Station. After the war, she returned home to the family farm in Warrington where her brother Ernest had just opened The Warrington Airport. She became a private pilot while running the lunch counter at the airport. Anna was looking for another business opportunity when she discovered a quiet little town near Williamsport PA called Trout Run. She found a beautiful site nestled at the foot of a mountain, tracked down the owner and purchased the property where she built The Hemlock Motel. She would fly her airplane back and forth from Warrington to Williamsport to check on the progress of the building project. Anna was a born entrepreneur and she genuinely loved people. Her motel customers soon became her dear friends! She had created an incredible business and a web of friends from all over the world. Her family will always treasure the fun-filled visits to the motel!
In 2006 she returned home to the farm in Warrington to reside with her beloved brother and sister-in-law Alby and Joan Cornell who looked after her for several years.
Anna is preceded in death by her parents Norman S. Cornell and Emma Clymer Cornell, her brothers Ernest Cornell and his wife Ruth Cornell, and Albert (Alby) Cornell. She is survived by Alby’s wife Joan Cornell. Anna did not have children but was a devoted aunt to her five nephews and one niece and subsequently two more generations of great nieces and nephews. All of whom loved her dearly! She was never too busy for her family and friends. She had an extraordinary love of nature and saw the beauty in everyone and everything.
Anna’s funeral service celebrating her life will be 11:00 am, Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at the Lighthouse Baptist Church, 2622 Durham Road, Buckingham, PA 18912 where the family will receive friends after 10:00 am until the time of service. Interment will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday in Whitemarsh Memorial Park.
Memorial contributions honoring Anna’s life may be made to the Lighthouse Baptist Church at the address above.