She rode with a legend.
Jo Ann Cornell, 88, a former McAlester Prison Rodeo queen, died at her home in Weatherford on Dec., 24, said her son, Harrison Cornell.
During her life, Cornell developed a friendship with legendary actor and American icon John Wayne.
That came about after Cornell, who was a journalist and an accomplished equestrian, once wrote a story about whether Wayne could ride a horse.
“John was irritated with the story she was writing, but he quickly learned she was a good horse rider and they got along great,” said Cornell’s son, Harrison Cornell.
“And yes, John did know how to ride,” he said.
Wayne must have been impressed with Cornell, since he saddled up his horse and rode alongside her — proving the equestrian abilities he displayed on the silver screen were indeed bona fide.
Cornell was born in Purcell in 1920, but her family later moved to McAlester, where her father, William Reeves, worked as a pharmacist and her mother, Emma, became known as a musician.
While in McAlester, Cornell won more than the honor of serving as Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo queen. She also won a horse, Congo, that she rode during the rodeo’s opening ceremonies.
She later wrote about the rodeo for those not familiar with it.
“Oklahoma had to have a prison rodeo because Texas, their big rival, had one first,” Cornell said.
“The rodeo was inside the prison walls with guards on the towers around the yard. I had a ‘lifer’ assigned to be my bodyguard by the warden.”
After Cornell graduated from McAlester High School, she attended the Christian College for Women in Columbia. Mo., and then graduated from the University of Oklahoma, were she majored in English and literature.
An accomplished rider, she also became an accomplished writer, working as a reporter for the Oklahoma City Times, the Daily Oklahoman and the New Orleans Times-Picayune in the 1940s.
She met another journalist, George W. Cornell, from Weatherford, who proposed to her in Times Square in New York City during the countdown to the New Year of 1944.
The couple married and lived in New York. Jo Ann Cornell wrote for magazines and later worked in real estate insurance, while her husband, George, became a religion writer for the Associated Press, their son said.
She retired in 1992 and she and her husband built their dream ranch house near Weatherford, her son, Harrison, said. In 2000, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, he said. Her survivors also include her daughter, Marion Emma Cornell.
Today, the photo of his mother and the Duke is treasured by Harrison Cornell.
Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.
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Photo courtesy the Cornell family collection
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