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- [S927] Obituary.
CORNETT, BETTY JANE Peacefully at 4:11am on Saturday, March 18, 2006 and after a short illness, Betty Jane Cornett of Reserve Twp. was called to her Heavenly Home to rest eternally with her beloved parents, sisters and brothers who preceded her in death. She has left behind her grieving sisters, Gilda Ann Tyska, Virginia Suess and Mary Lou Carr. She will be truly missed by her countless nieces, nephews and friends.
Betty Jane was born on Spring Hill, November 24, 1932, but the family moved to Troy Hill in 1940, after the death of her father. She attended St. Ambrose, St. Mary's, Latimer and Allegheny High Schools. In 1985, she retired from the H.J. Heinz Co. after 24 years of employment.
As a teenager, she was a member of the Pittsburgh Rockets Basketball Team, but her favorite past-time was softball. Any free time was spent at Cowley's Recreation Center on Troy Hill enjoying basketball, softball, swimming and ice skating. That eventually lead to her becoming a member of the AAGPBL and being enshrined with her teammates in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. When most of America's young men went to fight during WWII, Phil Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, joined up with Fred Leo, who had started the AAGPBL. Together they decided to form eight women's teams in the four-state area of Illinois, MIchigan, Wisconsin and Indiana with two teams from each state around Lake Michigan.
Back then, Betty Jane Cornett, of Troy Hill, was enjoying life by playing ball at many of the local Recreation Center fields. One of her coaches told her of try-outs in McKeesport for a Girl's Professional Team, she was 16 at the time. She went, was chosen and soon boarded a train at the P&LE Station, to attend rookie camp in the state of Indiana. It was her first train ride and her first time away from home. She was the youngest of 11 children of Francis T. and Stella Bendz Cornette and all the family were excited about her good fortune.
During practice sessions in Indiana, where the girls were observed for their abilities, the Rockford, IL "Peaches" picked Betty Jane to be a member of their team. When it was thought she needed a little more training, they assigned her to the Springfield IL "Sallies", a touring team, eventually traveling all over the East Coast. After a year with the "Sallies", Betty Jane was signed to play with the Kalamazoo, MI "Lassies", then was traded to the Battle Creek, MI "Belles". She played the positions of Pitcher and Third Baseman. When her professional career ended, Betty Jane played with amateur teams within the tri-state area in West Virginia and Hubbard, Ohio. Along with all former members of the AAGPBL, Betty Jane is enshrined at the Cooperstown, NY Hall of Fame. An enlarged copy of Ms. Cornett's Baseball Card is also included in a permanent mural, of outstanding Pittsburgh Sports Personalities, at the Senator John Heinz Sports Museum. Her Mitt, Hat and Cleats are on display along with her photo, on the second floor of the museum.
Her parents Francis T. and Stella Bentz Cornett preceded her in death, sisters Dolores Winghart, Dorothy Ann Jastrzebski and brothers Raymond, Ralph, Frank, Joseph and Edward Cornett. There is to be a Mass of Christian Burial at Most Holy Name of Jesus Church on Troy Hill at 1pm on Saturday, May 6, 2006. There will be no viewing and a private interment in the family plot at St. Mary's Cemetery on Mt. Troy.
Remembrances or donations can be sent to The Animal Rescue League or the Humane Society of Pittsburgh. Betty Jane dearly loved her former four legged canine friends, "Bonnie" and "Cisco". Arrangements entrusted to the Hughes Funeral Home, Inc., 1501 Lowrie St., Troy Hill, (412)-231-4193.
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1932 - 2006 (73 years)