Terri Walker Cornett

Terri Walker Cornett was born on October 12, 1959 in Vinita, Oklahoma. She passed away in the loving arms of her family on March 6, 2025 after a courageous 15-month fight with cancer. She was 65.

She leaves behind a legacy of love, friendships, and accomplishments.

Terri’s outgoing personality, speaking skills and salesmanship were apparent from early on. So was her courage. Her family remembers that, as a small child, Terri was frightened by thunder, lightning, and stormy weather, but never shy about performing. She would dance and sing at a moment’s notice. If there was a camera, she was in front of it. And if there was a school fund raiser that involved door-to-door salesmanship, Terri was likely to win the top prize.

Terri’s strong character, humility and confidence came from her parents and a collection of life experiences while growing up in Vinita. She had the good fortune of belonging to two loving parents: Ann and Leon Walker; as well as her sister Janene who became her lifelong friend and favorite companion. Leon owned a coal-mining business which meant Terri was a Coal Miner’s Daughter, a title she carried with pride.

She never forgot the lessons learned from her days as a Camp Fire Girl and could recite the pledges, songs and chants that she cherished the rest of her life.

She made life-long friends early and often. And if you were Terri’s friend, you could count on a birthday card, maybe a hand written letter, and quite possibly a phone call to stay in touch. And when you were going through a tough time, and it seemed like no one cared, Terri cared. And she let you know.

If you know Terri well, it will not surprise you that she was a cheerleader at Vinita High School. In a certain sense, Terri never stopped being a cheerleader. She cheered you up. She cheered you on.

Also, while in High School she won the Craig County Jr. Miss Pageant. And she was chosen as the FFA Sweetheart of Craig County.

Academically, Terri was a teacher’s dream. Obedient, on-time, and a good student. Following Vinita High School, she graduated from Northeastern A&M with Honors.

She then embarked on a professional career that reflected her skill set. She was a people-person. Maybe the ultimate people-person. She sold cosmetics door to door. She spent a year in Texas working for an airline as a senior flight attendant. She worked with Marriott in Hotel and Restaurant management. And then, in the mid-80’s, launched her sales career which would last for 40 years.

She started with United States Cellular as a sales rep in Tulsa. That’s right—remember those early cell phones—the ones that came in a big bag and fit over your shoulder? That was her product. And she could sell. The earliest adopters to the cell phone technology were her customers. The success continued. She took a promotion and was hired by Quintex Communications to move to New Jersey where, at the age of 26, she was managing and training a team of 12 younger sales people. That evolved into another job, with yet another New Jersey firm: NYNEX Mobile Communications. They promoted her to oversee an entire territory that spread across New Jersey and into New York. She was involved with staffing decisions, distribution channels, and helped to design facilities. The entire cellular phone industry was brand new, and Terri was on the ground floor helping to design its future and help it grow.

There was just one problem. She wanted to go home. She returned to Oklahoma in 1988 and was soon re-hired by U.S. Cellular. Over the next four years, she became one of their top employees. Out of 350 sales reps across the country, she ranked number three and was a member of their Presidents club which represented their top sales people.

Then in 1993, she changed careers and went to work for KTUL—Tulsa’s Channel 8. She started as an account executive where she became the station’s sales person of the year. Then in 2007, she became the local sales manager. She and her staff of 12 people were responsible for bringing in 60% of KTUL’s revenue. This was not a 9 to 5 job. When the entire station’s livelihood falls on your shoulders, you are expected to deliver, not make excuses. Good times or bad times, a television station has to have sales to stay afloat. She handled budgets and contracts and set the prices for inventory. She dealt with car dealers. She negotiated with furniture store executives. And internally, at Channel 8, she wasn’t just a rock star, she was the rock. Everyone in the station came to rely on her. Over the years, she also helped manage the careers and lives of her entire team. She became a mentor and a friend. And when you had a birthday, chances are, she baked you a cake and helped you blow out the candles.

Terri was very active in Tulsa’s leadership. During these years, she served on the National Board of American Women in Radio and Television. She served on the Board of Prevent Blindness Oklahoma. She was a member of the Christian Women’s Club, served as a mentor in the Tulsa Public Schools and chaired a committee for the Child Abuse Network.

She was also one of the top volunteers for the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce. There, she was a team captain charged with raising money for the Chamber and qualified for an incentive trip 13 years in a row. Those trips took her to places all over the world.

Now all of this information about her professional career may give you the impression that she was all about her work. That’s not the case. No matter how taxing the job became at any stage of her life, her family always came first. Just as she loved birthdays, she loved holidays back home in Vinita. And as she enjoyed these celebrations, she wanted to make sure you enjoyed it too.

Her life was forever changed in 2012 when she went on a blind date and met her future husband, Mick Cornett. They were introduced through a text message by a mutual friend. He lived in Oklahoma City; she lived in Tulsa. And when he called to ask her for a date, he asked all about her job in television. Finally, she asked him what he did for a living? He was a little startled because he had a rather unique job and assumed Terri would have been alerted by their mutual friend who set up the phone call. Mick answered sheepishly, “I am the Mayor?” When Terri didn’t immediately respond, Mick remembers adding, “of Oklahoma City?” He was losing confidence fast. Finally, Terri broke her silence and asked, “Now?” He said, “yes.” This was obviously no ordinary courtship.

Two years later, without any advance warning to their family and friends, they went to the Tulsa County Courthouse and got married. It meant leaving Tulsa where she had spent the bulk of her adult life. It meant leaving her friends, leaving her family, leaving her job and staff and joining her husband in Oklahoma City. As you can imagine, no one in Tulsa seemed thrilled about this. As happy as they could see she was, they just didn’t want to see her go.

Once in Oklahoma City, Terri had to come to grips with the idea that seemingly everyone knew her husband and virtually no one knew her. But that changed quickly.

She made sure to keep in touch with her friends in Tulsa but as the First Lady of Oklahoma City, Terri quickly collected new friends—so many new friends. She was always grateful for the way she was embraced by her newly adopted city.

Just a few months into her new life she was recruited to start a new—and final chapter—in her professional life. She joined the team at Allied Arts, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the arts across the state of Oklahoma. Terri was able to use her skills to raise millions of dollars that benefitted over a 100 arts organizations. These included the well-known organizations like the symphony and the ballet, but she also helped raise money for inner city programs that grew the arts in our public schools.

She also made time to serve on the Board of Directors for OETA and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

In 2019, at the age of 59, Terri decided to go back to school. She had graduated with an Associate Degree from Northeastern A&M when she was 22 but wanted to complete her Bachelor’s degree. So, she enrolled in night school at Southern Nazarene University. When she graduated with her business degree in the spring of 2021, she was surprised, though no one else seemed to be, that she had graduated Magna Cum Laude. At the graduation ceremony, many of the younger students were close to tears and they sought her out wanting one more hug before saying goodbye. As it turned out, Terri had served as a role-model and mentor for many of the younger students along the way.

Terri loved to travel and made countless trips to see new places and meet new people. She eventually made it to nearly all 50 states plus several trips to Europe, Central America and the Middle East. She loved tropical places so the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico and even Cuba made it onto her itinerary.

As a sports fan, she was partial to the Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma City Thunder. She and Mick attended most every home game, and when the playoffs arrived, they frequently made road trips to see the Thunder play in other cities. She also attended countless games involving her beloved nephews as they grew up competing for Vinita in wrestling, baseball and football. The cheerleader in her never went away.

Terri was preceded in death by her father, Leon. She is survived by her husband Mick, mother Ann Walker, sister Janene and brother-in-law Steve Mayer, sister-in-law Carolyn Howell and her husband Tom, brother-in-law Don Cornett and his wife Deborah, niece Jandra and her husband Mike Korb, nephew Brian Mayer, great nephews Israel Mayer, Parker Ward and his wife Cameron, Payton Ward and his wife Sloane, and Price Ward, and nieces Mackenzie Korb and Marissa Korb She is also survived by her stepsons Michael and daughter-in-law Mariah, Casey and daughter-in-law Marek, Tristan and daughter-in-law Taylor; as well as grandchildren Lily Cornett, Macy Jones, Fern Cornett, Penelope Cornett, Lucy Campbell, Lyon Cornett, Logan Cornett, Emmett Cornett, and Oliver Cornett.

Funeral Services will be held at St. Luke’s Methodist Church, 222 NW 15th Street in Oklahoma City. The service will begin at 10am on March 15th. Interment will be at Rose Hill Burial Park located at 6001 N.W. Grand Boulevard in Oklahoma City.

CLICK FOR LIVESTEAM OF SERVCE ----->  https://stlukesokc.online.church/

In lieu of flowers, Terri requested that donations be made to the following organizations that meant so much to her:

Allied Arts—1015 N. Broadway, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Esther Women—Care of St. Luke’s Methodist Church, 222 NW 15th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73103