Bert was born May 14, 1932, to parents John and Marie Cornu, immigrants from the Basque Country.
He was the youngest of 5 siblings: Hank Cornu (Marilynn), Grace (Jerry O'Leary), Mary (Sam Beeghley), and Veronica (Jean Cornu).
He passed on October 11, 2023. He was born and raised in Stillwater NV, and always had an affinity for working on machines. He and his brother enjoyed racing stock cars in Fallon and Reno. He worked for a small office machine company in Reno and was drafted into the Army for the Korean War.
He married his first wife Marjory, and had three daughters, Lisa (John Adams), Teresa (Tom Cargill) and Donna (Bryan Clancy). He continued this machinery passion to the casinos of Northern Nevada and expanded it into the "One-armed Bandits" for several casinos in the Carson City and Lake Tahoe areas. He was slot mechanic for several years and became the slot superintendent at Harrah’s, -Tahoe, Sahara -Tahoe, Harvey’s and The Ormsby house in Carson City.
He met his second wife, Donna while working in Lake Tahoe and they had a son, Joe Cornu. He was the father to Donna's son, Danny to this very day.
He moved to the Orofino, Idaho area in the early 80s and met the most fantastic people of his life. The extended Thornton family, the Dykes and Don Martin to name a few. He sold a ranch that he bought for the laundromat, that continued his passion of working on small intricate machines.
He has 9 nieces and nephews and many grandchildren and great grandchildren that will miss him dearly.
In lieu of a service, please send donations to the Wounded Warrior Foundation.